KEUKA PARK, N.Y. — The Keuka College Women's Volleyball team split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Keuka College Invitational on Friday at the JMW Recreation and Athletics Center.
The Wolves opened with a 3-0 loss to Marywood University before earning their first win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of La Roche University.
Senior
Nina Scott led Keuka College (1-2, 0-0 Empire 8) with a career-high 18 kills against La Roche, tying for third-most in program history in a three-set match. Junior
Gabby Rodriguez led the Green and Gold defensively in both matches, recording a match-high 16 digs against Marywood and 14 against La Roche.
Marywood 3 at Keuka College 0 – 25-13, 25-20, 25-21
The Wolves got on the board first in the opening set with a kill from Scott. Marywood responded and used a four-point run to build an 8-4 advantage. Keuka cut the lead to two, but the Pacers answered with seven straight points to take control of the set at 15-7. Scott and Alessandra Castañeda each recorded a pair of kills in the frame, but Marywood took the opener 25-13.
Keuka College started strong in the second set, taking an early 4-3 lead following a block by Scott and first-year
Gianna Falleti.
The Pacers moved ahead, but the Wolves battled back. A Scott kill followed by a Marywood attack error tied the set at 9-9. Keuka later scored three straight to take a 12-11 lead. Marywood answered with a four-point run to create separation and later stretched the advantage to 23-15. The Green and Gold fought back with four straight points, including kills from senior
Lilah Cousinsand Castañeda, but Marywood closed the set 25-20.
The third was the tightest set of the match with 14 ties and six lead changes. Keuka College took an early 3-1 lead behind a kill from sophomore
Addisyn Chorney The teams continued to trade points before the Wolves put together a three-point run to take a 16-15 advantage. Marywood responded, but a kill by first-year
Anna Beck tied the set at 19-19. Scott later tied it again at 21-21 with her 10th kill of the match, but the Pacers scored the final four points to take the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
Keuka College 3 vs. La Roche 0 – 25-21, 25-14, 25-15
The opening set went back and forth early, featuring six ties and five lead changes. With the score tied 6-6, Scott served an ace to spark three straight points for the Wolves. Keuka maintained the advantage before back-to-back points from La Roche cut the lead to 21-18. The Green and Gold responded with kills from Cousins and Scott down the stretch, with Scott's ninth kill of the set sealing a 25-21 victory.
Keuka took control early in the second. With the Wolves leading 3-2, Rodriguez went to the service line and helped fuel a six-point run, including back-to-back aces, to extend the lead to 9-2. The Green and Gold continued to build their advantage, with an ace from sophomore
Meaghan Knott making it 11-3. La Roche cut the margin to five, but Keuka answered with five straight points to push the lead to 20-10. Scott closed the set with a kill to give the Wolves a 25-14 win and a 2-0 advantage in the match.
The Redhawks took the opening two points of the third before Keuka responded with an 11-1 run, with Rodriguez serving for eight consecutive points. La Roche worked its way back into the set, cutting the Keuka lead to 14-9, but the Green and Gold remained in control. Castañeda later delivered three aces during a four-point run to make it 21-12. Keuka closed out the set 25-15 to complete the sweep and earn its first victory of the season.
KC Notes:
- Keuka College hit a season-best .219 against La Roche, including .286 in the opening set
- Junior Summer Elza led Keuka with 13 assists against La Roche
- Chorney finished with five kills without an attack error against La Roche, hitting .313
- Keuka held La Roche to a .048 hitting percentage and 21 kills
- Castañeda led the Wolves with four service aces against La Roche, while Rodriguez finished with three
Up Next for Keuka College: The Wolves return to action Saturday, Sept. 5, for day two of the Keuka College Invitational. Keuka College will face Keystone at 11 a.m. before closing the invitational against Hilbert College at 3 p.m.
