Highlanders Down Pioneers

After splitting the first two games, Houghton won the the 3rd and 4th games to earn a 3-1 victory (25-13, 27-29, 25-11, 25-17) over Alfred State in the Pioneers 2017 home opener.

The Highlanders connected on 11 kills and hit .360 in taking the 1st game of the match. They continued to push in the 2nd game, grabbing an early 7-1 lead before the blue & gold fought back and eventually took the game 29-27. Houghton bounced right back and collected 10 kills in game three and 14 more in game four to earn the victory. The Highlanders finished the night with 47 kills and a .238 hitting percentage.

Bryanna Godfrey (Tioga) led the Pioneers with 10 kills and chipped in five aces and five digs. Sarah Raichlin (Chenango Valley) passed out 21 assists and Madison Webster (Corning) led the team with 26 digs. Kiara Perkins (Coudersport, PA) added nine kills and Samantha Tumolo (Manorville/Eastport South Manor) passed out 10 assists. Alfred State hit .122 on the day.

Naomi Prentice led the Highlanders balanced attack with 12 kills. Ally Bittinger finished with nine while Jaimee Glendenning and Amber Edwards each had 8. Anna Coryell passed out 35 assists and registered 10 digs while Erica Barney collected 16 digs. Houghton recorded 11 aces in the contest.

The Pioneers are back in action on Saturday when they play Penn State Behrend (5 p.m.) and Cazenovia (7 p.m.). Behrend and Cazenovia will also play Lyndon State on Saturday evening while the Pioneers and Hornets will meet up on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.