MARCY, NY—The Houghton Highlanders kicked off their second intercollegiate season with a pair of tri-match losses at SUNY Poly's Wildcat Field House, losing the opening match to SUNY New Paltz, 3-0, before falling to the host Wildcats in the second, 3-1.
 
GAME VITALS
Game #1:
Match Score: Houghton – 0 | SUNY New Paltz – 3
Records: Houghton: 0-1 (0-0 AMCC) | SUNY New Paltz: 2-5 (0-0 UVC)
Set Scores: 12-25, 11-25, 20-25
Venue: Wildcat Field House, SUNY Polytechnical Institute | Attendance: 76
 
From the first serve, the Highlanders faced tough challenges. While both teams exchanged points in the early moments, a series of Houghton mistakes enabled the Hawks to pull ahead and take the first set, 25-12.
 
The second set continued in much the same way as the first, as New Paltz delivered powerful attacks backed by effective serving.
 
The Highlanders regrouped in the third set, turning in their strongest performance of the match.  The teams battled closely until late into this set, but the Hawks ultimately prevailed, 25-20.

NOTABLE STATS
>> Devin Burns and Devin Cline both finished the match with a team high four kills.
 
>> Elijah Sproull collected 10 assists.
 
>>Xavier Ramos led the defensive effort with seven kills.
 
Game #2:
Match Score: Houghton – 1  |  SUNY Poly – 3
Records: Houghton: 0-2 (0-0 AMCC) | SUNY Poly: 4-4 (0-0 NEVC)
Set Scores: 25-23, 7-25, 18-25, 25-20
Venue: Wild Cat Field House, SUNY Polytechnical Institute | Attendance: 77
 
The Highlanders started strong in their second match of the day, pulling out a nail-biting first set, 25-23.
 
Despite this promising start, a resilient Poly squad refocused and claimed victory in the following two sets, 25-7 and 25-18.
 
In the fourth set, both teams traded points evenly throughout.  But as the set reached the deciding points, the Wildcats executed several crucial offensive plays, pulling  ahead and ultimately winning the final set, 25-20.
 
Although the Highlanders had difficulty finding their offensive rhythm, their defensive back tallied 30 digs.

NOTABLE STATS
>> Elijah Sproull led the offensive effort with 10 kills, added 9 digs and had 5 assists while Devin Cline notched 5 kills, 3 aces, and 2 blocks on the day.
 
>> Jerry Buno collected 11 assists and 5 digs.
 
COACH'S CORNER
"Despite key injuries, we played very well against two experienced opponents. We opened our match against Empire 8 foe, Poly, with a thrilling 25-23 victory.
 
"Our passing and defense was very good. We will look to improve at the net in both attacking and blocking." – Head Coach David Borne
 
UP NEXT
 Houghton will prepare to host the Hilbert Hawks in their home opener on January 29^th at 7:00pm.