Potsdam, N.Y. – The SUNY Cobleskill women's volleyball team wrapped up its weekend road trip on Saturday with a pair of setbacks at the Clarkson, falling 3-0 (9-25, 10-25, 9-25) to host Clarkson University before dropping a 3-0 decision (8-25, 10-25, 18-25) to Middlebury College.
Match One: Clarkson 3, Cobleskill 0
Junior
Ciarra Jager (Stephentown, NY) led the Fighting Tigers' attack with four kills while hitting a team-best .375. Senior
Emma Hinze (Altenburg, Mo.) added three kills and three digs, while setter
Baylee Kirschberg (Lindenhurst, NY) dished out a team-high 10 assists.
Defensively,
Jojo Haycock (Bowie, Md.) finished with a team-high nine digs, while
Kathleen Smart (Nashville, Tenn.) added seven.
Clarkson held the advantage in several key categories, finishing with 34 kills compared to Cobleskill's 11 and a 15-2 edge in service aces. The Golden Knights also led 30-10 in assists and 39-29 in digs.
Jager put Cobleskill on the board early in the opening set with a kill off an assist from Kirschberg before a
Tori Harrington (Esperance, NY) ace tied the frame at 4-4. Clarkson responded with an 8-0 run to create separation, but the Tigers answered with a 4-1 push highlighted by a kill from
Audrey Davis (Hudson Falls, NY) to cut the deficit to 13-8. The Golden Knights regained control from there and closed out the first set, 25-9.
The teams again traded points early in the second set, with a Hinze kill and a Davis ace keeping Cobleskill within one at 5-4. Clarkson then used a pair of five-point runs to take control of the frame and pull away for a 25-10 victory.
Cobleskill stayed even early in the third set as three straight Clarkson errors tied the score at 5-5. Hinze later put away a kill from Kirschberg to keep the Tigers within striking distance, but the Golden Knights found another gear late and closed the match with a 25-9 set win.
Match Two: Middlebury 3, Cobleskill 0
Jager once again paced the Cobleskill attack with four kills while hitting .300 and adding two blocks. Hinze and Davis each recorded three kills, with Hinze also finishing with seven digs.
Kirschberg turned in a strong all-around performance with 13 assists, 12 digs and two kills, while Haycock added 11 digs on the back row.
Middlebury finished with a 31-16 advantage in kills, an 8-2 edge in blocks and a 28-16 lead in assists. Both teams were active defensively, with the Panthers holding a narrow 49-48 advantage in digs.
The teams traded points early in the opening set, with a
Hallie Gasner (Middleburgh, NY) kill evening the score at 2-2. Middlebury then seized momentum with a 13-1 run to build a 15-3 advantage, and the Tigers were unable to recover as the Panthers took the frame, 25-8.
Middlebury carried that momentum into the second set, opening with a 5-0 run before Jager stopped the stretch with a kill. Cobleskill later got back-to-back points from a Kirschberg kill and Harrington ace, but the Panthers used another strong run to create separation and take the set, 25-10.
The Panthers again jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third, but Cobleskill continued to battle. A Hinze kill and a Middlebury error cut the deficit to 15-9 before the Tigers put together their best stretch of the match. Kills from
Ashley Wright (Glenfield, NY), Hinze and Jager fueled a 6-1 run that pulled Cobleskill within five at 22-17. Middlebury answered down the stretch, however, and closed out the set, 25-18, to complete the sweep.
Up Next:
The Fighting Tigers return home on Tuesday, September 8, when they welcome SUNY Poly to the Iorio Gymnasium for their home opener at 7 p.m.
