Albany, NY - The SUNY Brockport women's volleyball team battled to five sets Saturday afternoon but fell 3-2 to Russell Sage College at the Kahl Campus Center in Albany. Set scores were 11-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-17.
Brockport moves to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in Empire 8 play. Russell Sage improves to 7-9, 1-2 in the Empire 8.
After dropping the first two sets, the Golden Eagles rallied to force a fifth set with back-to-back wins in sets three and four. Brockport hit .178 for the match with 51 kills, out-digging the Gators 60-63 in a match that featured 23 tie scores and 11 lead changes.
Top Performers for Brockport:
•  Luba Butcher led the offense with 12 kills on .360 hitting, adding 2 service aces and 8 digs for 14.5 points.
•  Ana Parella added 10 kills on .450 hitting with 3 block assists for 13.5 points.
•  Maddy Howell finished with 9 kills and a team-high 4 blocks (1 solo, 3 assisted) for 11.5 points.
•  Grace Ippoliti and Elsie Logan anchored the back row with 8 and 13 digs respectively.
•  Kaitlyn Jewett dished out 26 assists, while Ava Baty added 15 assists.
Brockport finished strong in sets three and four, hitting .097 and .270 to extend the match, but Russell Sage edged the Golden Eagles 17-15 in the decisive fifth set. The Golden Eagles totaled 8 aces and 9 blocks (3 solo, 12 assisted).
Russell Sage was led by Cassidy Weither with 18 kills and Madeline Mott with 16 digs. The Gators recorded 19 service aces as a team.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday, October 9th for a home matchup against Elmira. Match is scheduled for a 6pm start at The Vlog.
