EAGLES CAN'T OVERCOME STORM

In the second match of the NEAC conference weekend, the Eagles took on the Keuka Storm looking to keep their 7 game winning streak alive.  The Storm, however, thwarted the Eagles' offense at every turn and walked away with a 25-18, 25-21, 25-18 victory.

The Eagles and the Storm wee engaged in a tight battle in set 1, tied at 6 early before the Storm went on  a 7-2 run that gave Keuka a 13-8 lead.  But the Eagles responded and cut the lead down to 2 at 13-15.  But in a game of momentum swings,  the Storm stopped the Eagles from getting any closer and went on a 3-1 run to extend their lead to 18-14. The Eagles could not cut into the deficit as the Storm dug up numerous Eagle attacks at key moments to maintain the four point lead (22-18). After a CSE service error and attack error, the Storm put down a left-side kill to seal the set 25-18. Rachel Hausler led the team with 8 digs and Katie Cooper and Kareemah Muhammad paced the Saint Elizabeth offense with 4 kills combined.

The second set saw a much more confident Eagle team and CSE raced out to an 8-5 lead thanks to Subhana Wrights' blocking out of the middle and Kareemah Muhammad's offense out of the outside.  However, the Storm came back with a 5-0 run behind very precise hitting to edge ahead 10-8. The Eagles kept fighting back to within one various times (10-11, 12-13,14-15,17-18) thanks to superior passing by Rachel Hausler, Katie Cooper and Misato Oya.  But in a game of momentum swings, CSE seemed to be at the wrong side of them late in the match.  Keuka went on a 6-1 run that pushed the Eagles to the brink at 18-24.  Saint Elizabeth tried to stay in the set behind an Amy Cooper ace, a Katie Cooper and a Kiara Francisco kills but after a successful right-side attack by the Storm, the Eagles fell 25-21.  Katie Cooper and Kareemah Muhammad led the team with 5 kills combined while Rachel Hausler once again dug up 8 attacks in the set.

The 3rd and decisive set proved to be quite a challenge for Saint Elizabeth.  CSE trailed early 7-3 and could not recover as the Storm continue to press the issue and extend their lead to 13-8 midway through the match.  Although the Eagles found their offense through the set, the Storm got that crucial dig every time to thwart a large momentum swing to CSE's side.  CSE trailed 19-14 late in the set and again 22-17 at the closing moments.  Keuka closed the set out with a 3-1 run to finish off the Eagles and their winning streak. Saint Elizabeth was led by Katie Cooper and Subhana Wrights with a combined 6 kills in the set while Rachel Hausler continued her excellent play with 6 more digs.