CLAREMONT, Calif. – The College at Brockport women's volleyball team opened the 2017 season on Friday in the challenging Pacific Coast Classic, falling to the No. 7 ranked Claremont Mudd Scripps College and No. 17 ranked Millikin University in straight sets. The pair of losses put the Golden Eagles at 0-2 on the season.
 
Game One vs. No. 7 Claremont Mudd Scripps: L, 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-15)
 
After falling behind 3-0, the Golden Eagles fought back to tie the contest early against the strong host team in the opening set. Behind a pair of Green and Gold kills, including a shot from Meaghan Mastro, Brockport fought for the 3-3 score. Brockport continued to hang with the Athena's in the early going, but quickly fell behind pace.
 
Back-to-back Brockport kills, from Brianna Richardson and DeAnna Ortiz-Whittemore gave the Green and Gold a spark, pulling the score to 17-9. Brockport couldn't hold on however, as the high-octane offense of CMS took control, and seized the opening set, 25-14.
 
In the second set, Brockport dug an early hole, and were forced to climb back from a 4-0 CMS run. The Golden Eagles used back-to-back kills from Richardson and Laiken Fox to halt the Athena streak, and pull to 4-2 in the opening of set two.
 
The Green and Gold pieced together a three-point swing, with a pair of Fox kills, and an Emily Orminski ace to pull within eight, trailing CMS 20-12 late in the set. Brockport's offense struggled to post points as the defense was hard pressed to pick up stops, as the Athena's took the second set, 25-13.
 
The third stanza saw a sluggish Brockport start, but the Green and Gold fought for a 5-1 run to pull to within seven at 18-10. The Golden Eagle scoring streak featured three Brockport kills, with Fox adding one and Mastro slamming home a pair. Brockport worked for another scoring stretch, and put together a 4-1 run to the 23-15 mark, with a pair of Kelly Waters kills and a Mastro ace. The Golden Eagle spark came a little too late, as CMS would score the final two points to secure the match with a 25-15 third set win.
 
In her Golden Eagle debut, Fox led the way offensively, posting nine kills and a .348 percent hitting clip. Fellow newcomer Mastro added six kills, while veteran Richardson chipped in five kills on the day.
 
Also in her first time donning the Green and Gold, setter Emily Orminski set the offensive pace, dishing out 22 assists and also added a pair of service aces.
 
On the defensive side, libero Kathleen Irwin was the digs leader, sprawling for 10. Maddy Taylor and Mastro each chipped in six digs apiece on the afternoon.
 
Game Two vs. No. 17 Millikin University: L, 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-19)
 
In the second set, a spirited Golden Eagle squad came out of the gate, but didn't make things easy on themselves, as they had to continuously dig themselves out of holes against a stout Millikin team. Brockport just missed in the opening set, falling 25-20.
 
In the second set, the Green and Gold woes continued, as Brockport found itself facing a 15-0 deficit. Not ready to throw in the towel, the Golden Eagles clawed their way back into the contest, pulling to within four at 18-14. The comeback wasn't enough, as they fell 25-15.
 
The final set proved to be much of the same, as the Green and Gold continued to ride waves of success, met with lulls of scoring. Brockport dropped their final set of the day by a score of 25-19.

In the second match, Fox again led the offense, swinging for seven kills in the match. Ortiz-Whittemore added five kills while Cassie Birth chipped in four. Orminski continued to set the offensive pace, dishing out 19 assists in the contest.
 
Taylor and Irwin both picked up six digs apiece in the match, while Orminski added five. Birth and Rachel Millington each added four digs in the contest.
 
The Golden Eagles will be back in action as they wrap up their showing in the Pacific Coast Classic on Saturday, Sept. 2, where they will face the University of the Redlands at 4:30 EST and the University of La Verne at 6:45 EST.
 
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