HOUGHTON, NY – Lilly Bentley racked up 13 kills as the Houghton Highlanders won their second consecutive Empire 8 matchup in as many days, defeating the Elmira Soaring Eagles on Saturday afternoon, 3-1.
 
After a seesaw battle throughout the first set, the Highlanders broke a 22-22 tie on back-to-back Elmira attack errors, before Ella Smith gave Houghton a 1-0 advantage with the first of her four service aces.
 
Elmira bounced back quickly, taking the second set, 25-21, before another back-and-forth battled ensued in the third set.
 
Houghton jumped out to an early 9-1 advantage, but the Soaring Eagles fought back, eventually tying the game, 12-12.  The teams then traded points and leads until, with Elmira up, 22-20, Houghton reeled off four straight points, capped by kills from Alexa Belanger and two from Emma Cole to force set-point. 
 
After a kill from Elmira, Bellanger put away the set-winning kill to put Houghton up, 2-1.
 
Capitalizing on the momentum from the big third-set win, the Highlanders rolled through the fourth set, 25-17, to take the match, 3-1.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 3 | Elmira – 1
Records: Houghton: 5-9 (2-0 Empire 8) | Elmira: 2-14 (0-3 Empire 8)
Scores: 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17
Venue: The Nielsen Center, Houghton University | Attendance: 248

NOTABLE STATS
>> Bentley has now reached double-digit kills eight times this season. She currently leads the team with 136 kills (2.4 k/s), and holds a team-best .341 attack percentage.
 
>> Bellanger and Katie Naprawa added nine kills apiece, and Natalie Rivera and Ainslie Reimer posted 15 and 14 digs apiece, respectively.
 
>> Setters Morgan Brace and Logan Baer dished out 20 and 18 assists, respectively.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"We had a short turnaround to prepare to play Elmira after last night's five-set thriller. They pushed us, and I was proud of how we stepped up in those moments and got the win.
 
"We will continue to put the work in and prepare for two more conference matchups next weekend." – Coach Danielle Heffernan
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders travel to Utica next weekend, when they will take on the SUNY Poly Wildcats on Friday at 7:00 p.m., before challenging the Utica Pioneers on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.