GENESEO, NY – The Houghton women's volleyball 2025 campaign came to close on Saturday afternoon, as the fifth-seeded Highlanders fell, 3-0, to the fourth-seeded SUNY Geneseo Knights in the opening round of the Empire 8 conference championship tournament.
 
The Knights took a commanding lead in the opening set, eventually leading, 21-12, before Houghton managed a six-point run to pull within three.  That glimmer of hope would be short-lived, as Geneseo closed out the set with four of the next five points.
 
A six-point Geneseo run in the second, thanks to five Houghton attack errors and a service ace, proved to be the boost the Knights needed, as otherwise, the teams played evenly throughout.   Geneseo took the set, 25-18, to take a 2-0 lead.
 
The final set belonged to Geneseo, as the Highlanders failed to muster any consistency on the offensive side of the net, committing eight errors while tallying only five kills.
 
GAME VITALS
Match Score: #5 Houghton – 0 | #4 Geneseo – 3
Records: #5 Houghton: 13-12 | #4 Geneseo: 15-11
Set Scores: 19-25, 18-25, 7-25
Venue: Carl Schrader Gymnasium, SUNY Geneseo | Attendance: 256

NOTABLE STATS
>> Emma Cole closed out her college career with three kills and two blocks.  She finished the season with 93 total blocks on the season, which ranked her first in the Empire 8, and 216 for her career, which ranks eighth on the Highlanders career leader board. 
 
Cole collected a career-best 204 kills on the season, giving her 716 for her career.
 
>> Fellow senior, Natalie Rivera, closed out her career 600 digs, with her high-water mark coming this year, with 286 digs.
 
>> Team statistical leaders for the season included
 
      Alexa Belanger – Kills (295) and Digs (291)
      Logan Baer – Assists (601) and Service Aces (44)
      Emma Cole – Blocks (94)
 
>> The team has qualified for the postseason three of the past four years and five of the past seven years.