Lady Pioneers Rally for Wild Five Set Victory

The Alfred State volleyball team was one point away from falling to Houghton College in the 4th set but rallied and pulled out an exciting five set victory. The Pioneers improve to 23-4 on the season while the Highlanders are now 16-11.

The blue & gold rolled to a 25-17 victory in the opening set before the Highlanders looked to take control of the game with 17-25 and 20-25 victories. Houghton led 24-19 in the 4th set before the Lady Pioneers scored six straight points and eventually took the set 27-25. In the deciding 5th set, Alfred State led throughout and won 15-10.

Bryanna Godfrey (Tioga) led the Pioneers with 17 kills and 27 digs while Janae Hamilton (Ellicottville) chipped in 16 kills and 5.5 blocks. Lera Braun (Waterloo) passed out 54 assists and had 12 digs, Madison Szpaicher (Ellicottville) recorded 24 digs, and Madison Webster (Corning) registered 18 digs. Jessica Padley (Sweet Home) added 12 kills and 16 digs while Grace Hall (Ellicottville) had eight kills.

The Lady Pioneers collected 57 kills in the game and 108 digs. They finished with a .181 hitting percentage.

Megan Palm led the Highlanders with 12 kills while Kayla Bernard finished with 23 digs. Anna Coryell was credited with 28 assists and Erica Barney chipped in six kills and 21 digs. Houghton collected 41 kills and 84 digs in the game. They finished with a .224 hitting percentage.

The Pioneers and Highlanders will meet again on Friday at Houghton. The match is slated for 6 p.m. and will be the third meeting between the cross county rivals. Each team has taken the match on their home court thus far.

Alfred State will also battle Utica College at 8 p.m. at Houghton.