KEUKA PARK, N.Y. — Keuka College Women's Volleyball battled back twice and forced a decisive fifth set, but came up just short in an Empire 8 thriller, falling 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Senior
Nina Scott led Keuka College (8-9, 1-1 Empire 8) with a career-high 28 kills while hitting .343 and adding 10 digs.
Gabby Rodriguez anchored the defense with a career high 35 digs and four service aces.
Summer Elza and
Phoebe Swartz combined for 53 of the team's 64 total assists as the Wolves totaled 68 kills in the match.
Keuka College 2 vs. Utica University 3 (22-25, 25-20, 25-15, 20-25, 15-13)
Keuka College set the tone early in the opening set. After the score was tied at 3-3, the Wolves used a 7-1 run fueled by kills from Scott,
Addisyn Chorney, and Alessandra Castañeda to build a 10-4 advantage. Utica chipped away and eventually tied the score at 20-20, but the Wolves answered immediately. Scott sparked a late three-point burst before
Anna Beck delivered a kill and a solo block on consecutive points to seal a 25-22 first-set victory.
The second set featured 11 ties as neither side could create separation early. Keuka College erased a four-point deficit with a 4-0 run highlighted by Rodriguez serving back-to-back aces to knot the set at 14-14. The Wolves stayed within one point late, but a closing run allowed Utica to even the match with a 25-20 win.
Utica carried the momentum into the third set, using an early 8-1 run to build a 9-4 lead. Keuka College answered with consecutive service aces from Swartz to trim the deficit to 16-11, but the Wolves could not get any closer as Utica claimed the set 25-15 for a 2-1 match advantage.
Facing elimination, Keuka College responded with one of its best stretches of the afternoon in the fourth. Chorney opened a four-point run with a service ace before Scott, Beck, and Castañeda all recorded key kills to put the Wolves ahead. After Utica cut the margin to 21-18, Castañeda delivered two late kills before Scott and Castañeda combined on match point to finish off a 25-20 victory and force a decisive fifth set.
The fifth set was tight throughout. Keuka College jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind kills from Chorney, Beck, and Scott, but Utica answered to even the score at 5-5. The teams traded points the rest of the way as Scott repeatedly answered with clutch kills to keep the Wolves within striking distance. Tied at 13-13, Utica scored the final two points to edge Keuka College 15-13 and claim the match.
KC Notes:
- Scott's 28 kills tied the Keuka College single-match record and set a new standard for the most kills in a match played inside the JMW Recreation and Athletics Center
- Rodriguez moved into sixth place on the program's all-time list for digs in a five-set match with 35 and moved to sixth all-time in career digs withn 1,082
- The Wolves recorded 64 assists, the second-highest total in program history for a five-set match
- The Green and Gold recorded 212 attacks, the second-most in program history for a five-set match
- With 68 kills, Keuka College posted the third-highest team total in program history for a five-set match
Up Next for Keuka College: Keuka College will travel to Elmira, N.Y. on Tuesday, October 6 at 6 p.m. as they take on the Soaring Eagles in conference play.
