BUFFALO, NY – Following their first loss of the season on Wednesday night, the Houghton Highlanders picked up where they left off, improving to 6-1 on the season with a victory over the Medaille Mavericks on the opening night of the Bengals Classic at Buffalo State College.
Led by a strong service game and a well-balanced attack from
Ally Bittinger (11 kills),
Amy Huddell (10 kills) and
Brooke Lewandowski (nine kills), the Highlanders rolled through the first two sets before the Mavericks battled back to take the third.
With the Bengals leading late in the fourth set,
Rebekah Clark served six straight points to recapture the lead for the Highlanders, 22-20. After a ball-handling error brought the Bengals within a point, a kill by Bittinger and a block and kill by Lewandowski sealed the victory for Houghton.
GAME VITALS
Match Score: Houghton – 3 | Medaille – 1
Game Scores: 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22
Records: Houghton: 6-1 | Medaille: 1-1
Venue: Buffalo State College Sports Arena| Attendance: 97
NOTABLE STATS
>> Bittinger posted her second double-double in as many games, collecting 19 digs on the night, second only to
Morgan Potempa, who posted 23.
>> In addition to her kills, Lewandowski also added five blocks, including four solo blocks.
>>
Haley Unverdorben dished out 33 assists and tallied 10 digs for the Highlanders.
>> Stephanie Ciesla led the Mavericks with eight kills.
COACH'S CORNER
"The first and second sets we did a good job controlling the game from the service line and we were able to do enough offensively to finish.
"In the third set I made some changes and mixed up the lineup, which, unfortunately, cost us the momentum we had early. After dropping the third set we had to push through some mental adversity.
"We struggled to get things going in the fourth set but, to the girls' credit, they tightened it up late and pulled out a solid win. It was a great step forward for us mentally." – Coach Joshua Tompkins
UP NEXT
Houghton returns to action at the Buffalo State College Tournament tomorrow when they will play John Carroll University at 1:00 p.m. and the host Tigers at 3:00 p.m.
