BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Houghton volleyball dropped to 1-3 on the season after two losses Friday night at the Brockport Tournament.
The Highlanders opened with a 1-3 loss to Penn State-Behrend (25-27, 21-25, 25-20, 19-25) and finished with an 0-3 loss to Brockport (19-25, 29-31, 19-25).
This first set was back and forth, with neither team gaining much advantage early on. The Lions were able to stretch out to a 15-10 lead, but four straight points pulled the Highlanders back to within one. The teams continued to trade points, and the Highlanders finally gained a 25-23 lead, but the Lions scored the final three points to gain the first set win.
In game two, the Lions had an 8-3 lead before Houghton clawed back to take a 13-12 lead. But the Lions scored six of the next seven points to regain control.
Down 11-7 in game three, Houghton scored eight straight to gain the lead, withstood a late rally by Behrend, and closed out the game with five straight points to get the game win.
The final game was tight early, but the Lions scored 10 of 12 points to take control and cruised to the win.
Hattie Burgher (Selkirk, NY, Loudonville Christian) led the Highlanders with 12 kills and added 10 digs.
Erica Barney (Vestal, NY, Vestal) finished with 24 digs, while
Kayla Bernard (Aubrey, TX, Cisco CC) and
Rebekah White (Rochester, NY, Spencerport) had 19 digs apiece.
Anna Coryell (Phelps, NY, Midlakes) contributed 35 assists.
Against Brockport, the Highlanders dropped game one, despite a late run that cut the Eagles lead from six to one midway through. Game two was an epic battle, as neither team led by more than three. After the game reached 15-15 the teams combined for 12 more ties. Houghton fended off three match points (at 25-24, 26-25 and 28-27) and even had one of their own (27-26) but couldn't get the win.
The Eagles scored the final four points in game three to get the six-point win.
Burgher had 13 kills and seven digs, Barney had 24 kills, and Coryell had 26 assists to lead the Highlanders.
Houghton (1-3) has matches against Gordon and Skidmore in the tournament's second day Saturday.
