Cobleskill, N.Y.: The SUNY Cobleskill women's volleyball opened the 2021 season on Wednesday evening by losing to the visiting Hawks of Hartwick College 3-0 by set scores of 25-21, 25-17 and 25-17 at the Iorio Gymnasium in non-conference play. With the defeat the Fighting Tigers open the year with a 0-1 overall record while the Hawks start the season at 1-0. to start the year.

After the Hawks out battled the Fighting Tigers in the first set by a 25-21 margin, the visitors capitalized on 11 Cobleskill service errors while pounding out 11 service aces of their own to secure the victory,

Cobleskill received strong efforts from sophomore outside hitter MacKenzie Larson, Winterset, Iowa, Winterset High School, with 12 kills and nine digs while sophomore Alexis Miranda, Nashua, N.H., Nashua North High School, with seven kills. Senior setter Maleigha Ellithorpe, Cazenovia, N.Y., Cazenovia High School/Onondaga Community, was also a factor in the match with 21 assists on the evening.

The Hawks were led to the victory by the dynamic duo of senior middle hitter Toria Betelak, North Syracuse, N.Y., Liverpool High School, who notched a match high of14 kills on the evening and freshman outside hitter Staecia Silofau, Kapolei, Hawaii, Maryknoll High School, who tallied eight kills and 10 digs on the evening for the visitors.

The Fighting Tigers will next be in action over the weekend when they travel to Chicopee, Mass. To compete in the 2021 Elms College Blazer Invitational. Cobleskill will open the tournament on Friday September 3 at 7:00 p.m. when they face Worcester Polytechnic Institute followed on Saturday September 4 when they meet tournament host Elms College at 10:00 a.m. followed by a 12:00 p.m. meeting with Colby-Sawyer College to close the event.