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Saints rally to top Elmira after five sets of volleyball

Posted 9/15/18

The St. Lawrence University volleyball team rallied to force five sets, including extra points in the fourth set, to record a 3-2 win over Elmira College on day one of the Oswego State Invitational …

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Saints rally to top Elmira after five sets of volleyball

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The St. Lawrence University volleyball team rallied to force five sets, including extra points in the fourth set, to record a 3-2 win over Elmira College on day one of the Oswego State Invitational on Friday night in Oswego, New York.

Elmira topped the Saints by scores of 25-23 and 25-20 in the first two sets of the night, but the Saints proved resilient and claimed the next three sets for the win by scores of 25-11, 27-25 and 15-8.

The Saints were led by Natalie Piper with 19 kills, 17 digs and four service aces, while Grace Kelly added 13 kills and 11 digs. Ally Good assisted on 25 plays, while Jenna Britton ranked second with 13 assists and Reagan Collier-Hogan finished the night with 14 digs. Julia Wagner led the Saints and posted a season match-high five blocks.

St. Lawrence took off with an early 5-1 lead at the beginning of the first set, but the Soaring Eagles fought back to tie the set at 10 with a kill from Natalie Schieder. The Saints took a 14-13 lead and controlled the lead through the next nine points but Elmira recorded a four-point run to tie the set for the third time at 23-23, forcing the Saints to call a timeout. Lauren Smith tallied a kill and Tiara John added a service ace to close the set with a 25-23 win.

In the second set, both teams battled point-for-point but the Soaring Eagles took a 20-15 lead on another kill for Schieder. St. Lawrence battled within three points off an Elmira service error, but the Eagles claimed the second set by a score of 25-20.

Looking to rally, the Scarlet and Brown opened the third set with a 9-4 lead on an ace from Collier-Hogan. The Saints went on a four-point run of their own to take a 12-5 lead off a kill from Piper. Alison Clark assisted Kelly to increase the Saints lead to 16-6. With back-to-back kills from Piper and Collier-Hogan the Saints held a 23-10 lead and sealed the third set 25-11 with another kill from Piper to force a fourth set.

With an early run in the fourth set, Elmira took a 4-0 lead over St. Lawrence. Amanda Teppo recorded the Saints first point of the set, while the Scarlet and Brown continued to rally, tying the match at 8-8 and 9-9 and taking their first lead of the set (10-9) on a kill from Wagner. After two more ties, Elmira recorded seven straight points to lead 20-14.

But the Saints didn't back down, bringing the match within two points after back-to-back kills from Teppo and two service aces from Collier Hogan. Piper tied the set (22-22) for the Saints off the pass from Britton. A back-and-forth battle forced extra points and the Saints would head to the fifth and final set with a 27-25 win.

Like the first set of the night, the Saints took a 5-1 lead to open the set and extended that advantage to 8-1, but the Soaring Eagles fought back to bring the final set within two points (8-6). Another two service aces and two kills from Piper, the Saints led 13-8 and sealed the win after a double block from Clark and Wagner and an ace from Piper.

"We got off to a very slow start and made a lot of sloppy, unfocused mistakes, said head coach Shelly Roiger. "That being said, the toughness and poise this team showed down the stretch was impressive. I'm very proud of their fight and we will definitely be better out of the gates tomorrow."

Schieder led Elmira with 10 kills, while Kasey Campbell added 15 digs and Taylor Kaznowski and John each recorded five service aces and 11 digs.

The Saints edged the Soaring Eagles in kills (49-40), digs (67-62), service aces (20-12) and blocks (7-5).

With the win, the Saints improved to 6-3 on the season, while the Soaring Eagles fell to 3-4.

St. Lawrence will take on Utica College and Oswego State on day two of the Oswego State Invitational on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.