HOUGHTON, NY— The Nazareth Golden Flyers defeated the Houghton Highlanders in four closely-contested matches on Wednesday night.
 
In the first set Houghton battled back from an 18-11 deficit to tie the game at 21-21.  A well-timed timeout by the Golden Flyers righted their ship, as they took four of the next five points to win the set.
 
The Highlanders then overcame match point (24-23) in the second set, as Naomi Prentice and Erica Barney slammed home a pair of kills to knot the match at one game apiece.
 
With the pivotal third game tied at 23-23, the Golden Flyers spiked two kills of their own to take the set, then overcame a 17-14 Houghton lead in the final set to win the match.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 1 | Nazareth – 3 
Records: Houghton: 11-15  (2-4 Empire 8) | Nazareth: 16-9 (5-1 Empire 8)
Scores: 22-25, 27-25, 23-25, 20-25
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton College | Attendance: 78

NOTABLE STATS
>> Erica Barney led the Highlanders with 12.5 points, including 11 kills, and added 18 digs
>> Naomi Prentice picked up 12 points on 11 kills and added two blocks.  She now stands only 41 kills away from 1,000 for her career
>> Morgan Potempa posted 19 digs and three service aces, and Anna Coryell added 36 assists for Houghton
>> Madison Joseph and Melissa Newcomb led the Golden Flyers with 18 and 15 points apiece, respectively.  
 
COACH'S CORNER
"We played a very tough team very well.  We made a lot of smart plays offensively and did a good job finding holes in their defense. 
 
"We'll look to clean up those small errors and go into this weekend of conference games strong." –Coach Brianne Starks
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders travel to the Albany area on Saturday for their final conference tri-match of the year.  They will challenge Elmira College at 1:30 p.m. before playing the host team, Sage College, at 4:00 p.m.