KEUKA PARK, N.Y. — The Keuka College Women's Volleyball team lost in five sets to Russell Sage College at the JMW Recreation and Athletics Center on Saturday.
Nina Scott posted a career-high 23 kills to lead Keuka College (2-21, 1-8 Empire 8).
Russell Sage College 3 at Keuka College 2 – 21-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-10, 15-13
It was a strong start for the Wolves, but a run by Russell Sage College gave the Gators an 8-5 lead. Keuka answered back with a pair of three-point runs, capped by an ace from Alessandra Castañeda to give Keuka a, 11-9 advantage. Keuka College played with the lead in the set and did not let the Gators regain the advantage. A kill by Castañeda ended the first with Keuka taking it 25-21.
After another tight start, the Wolves created some separation against the Gators. The Green and Gold led by as many as five in the frame. Sage looked to mount a comeback with three straight points to make it 22-19, but
Nina Scott delivered a kill to regain momentum. Scott closed it out as Keuka took a 2-0 lead in the match, winning the second set 25-22.
Five unanswered points for Russell Sage gave them a 6-4 lead but Keuka answered back with four of their own to regain the advantage. Sage would slide ahead in the frame and use a run winning five of six points to build a 21-16 lead over Keuka. The Wolves pulled three points back late to make it 20-23, but Sage closed it out with a kill and an ace to win the third 25-20 and extend the match.
Russell Sage carried the momentum into the fourth set. They had their best hitting set of the match while Keuka had its worst. The Gators took the fourth 25-10 to send the match to a fifth and final set.
After a block by Sage on the first point, Keuka College rattled off six straight to take control of the fifth set. Keuka would take their lead to 7-2, but seven straight by the Gators flipped the set with Sage ahead 9-7. It was Keuka's turn for a run. The Wolves scored four straight to make it 12-10 in favor of the home team. Sage scored three but then gave one back on an error as the fifth was tied at 13-13. Russell Sage pulled it out in the end with a pair of kills to take the fifth set 15-13 and win the match 3-2.
KC Notes:
- Saturday was the first time Keuka and Russell Sage played to five sets in their 12-match history. It was also the first time the Wolves dropped an Empire 8 match to the Gators
- To go along with her career-high for kills in a match, Nina Scott set a new career-high for kills in a season as well
- Alessandra Castañeda was second on the team with 14 kills against Russell Sage
- Gabby Rodriguez led the Wolves defensively with 19 digs in the match. The sophomore surpassed 700 digs for her career
- Summer Elza had 25 assists for the Wolves, and Phoebe Swartz was right behind her with 20
Up Next for Keuka College: The Wolves will not look ahead to the final weekend of the regular season. Keuka College will close out the regular season on the road as the Wolves play a Halloween match at Utica University on Friday night. They will then play in a tri-match at SUNY Poly on Saturday.
