CORTLAND, N.Y. – Houghton kicked off the 2015 volleyball season going 1-1 at the Cortland Tri-Match on Tuesday.
 
The Highlanders faced NCAA Division III #13 Clarkson University in the opening match, losing 0-3 (13-25, 19-25, 16-25), then rebounded to beat the host Red Dragons, 3-2 (21-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-11).
 
Against Clarkson, Houghton went up 5-1 to start the first set, but the Golden Knights tied it at six, took an 11-8 lead, and then pushed the advantage to 19-10.
 
Clarkson jumped out to a 13-4 lead in game two to force a Houghton timeout. The break helped the Highlanders, who rallied back to within 15-11 and eventually as close at 17-15.
 
The third set was back and forth early, with 10 ties over first 20 points. With the score tied at 10, the Golden Knights went on a 7-0 run to take a 17-10 lead. Houghton rallied back to within 18-14 before Clarkson scored five straight to take the match.
 
Hattie Burgher (Selkirk, NY, Loudonville Christian) led offensively with 10 kills and 6 digs, while Anna Coryell (Phelps, NY, Midlakes) contributed 16 assists and 13 digs and Erica Barney (Vestal, NY, Vestal) finished with 11 digs.
 
The match against Cortland looked like it was going the same way as the first match as the host Red Dragons won the first two games. Houghton used a 5-0 run in set two to take a 17-11 lead, was up 20-13 and had to withstand four errors late to earn the two-point win.
 
The Highlanders were never threatened in the fourth set, leading by as many as 10 points.
 
In set five, Houghton jumped out to 4-1 and 6-3 leads, but had to overcome a Cortland rally that tied it at seven. The Highlanders scored three straight to take control, with a Burgher kills ending the match.
 
Burgher was again the leader for Houghton with 11 kills, nine digs and three blocks. She got help from teammate Meagan Palm (Lakeland, FL, Lakeland Christian), who contributed 10 kills, four digs and three blocks. Coryell chipped in with 35 assists, three aces, four digs and two blocks. Barney (30 digs) and Kayla Bernard (Aubrey, TX, Cisco CC) (19 digs) were strong defensively.
 
Houghton (1-1) heads to the Brockport Tournament for four matches this weekend.