McDonough Earns First Collegiate Head Coaching Win as Elmira Finishes 2-1 at Cazenovia Invitational

| Box Score 2

CAZENOVIA, N.Y. – The Elmira College Women’s Volleyball team opened the season with a 2-1 weekend at the Cazenovia Fall Invitational. After winning its first match against the hosts on Friday in which Ryan McDonough ’19 claimed his first collegiate head coaching victory, the Soaring Eagles would split the final day of competition with a win over Mount Saint Mary College (NY). 

JUST THE BASICS:

SCORES: Elmira 3, Cazenovia 1

                 Elmira 1, Alfred State 3

                 Elmira 3, Mount Saint Mary (NY) 1

LOCATION: Cazenovia, N.Y. | Schneeweiss Athletic Complex

On Friday, Cazenovia would come out strong in the first set before Elmira stormed back to take the final three sets and claim a 3-1 victory. Amelia Martin ’23 led the way with ten kills in the match for a hitting percentage of .529, along with seven service aces. Cassidy Ryan ’24 finished the match with 14 assists, while Martin also recorded seven digs on the defensive side.

Saturday, the Soaring Eagles dropped its first matchup of the day to Alfred State, 3-1. Elmira and the Pioneers batted in the first set, as 25 points was not enough with Alfred State eventually taking the opener 26-24. 

From there, Elmira would fight back to take the second set in dominant fashion (25-15), with the team recording 11 kills in the set. From there, the Pioneers would go on to win the final two sets, 25-19 and 25-22, respectively.  Sydney Meyers ’25 led the way for Elmira with eight kills, while Asia Curkendall added 15 assists. Freshman Gabriella Rodriguez ’26 was able to record 17 digs on the defensive side. 

In the final match of the tournament, the Soaring Eagles were able to defeat Mount Saint Mary (NY) in four sets. Calli Vocke ’23 led the Soaring Eagles with 12 kills and an outstanding .706 hitting percentage in the match, while Samantha Garry ’25 helped Elmira with ten kills and a hitting percentage of .316. Curkendall dished out 22 assists and had six service aces in the match, while Gianna Pezzino ’23 added seven service aces and seven digs. For Martin, she added five digs to her total while Makenna Clark ’25 had ten digs. 

UP NEXT:

The Soaring Eagles will return to the court on Wednesday when they hit the road to take on the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. First serve is set for 7:00 PM.

…