AURORA, N.Y. – The Wells College women's volleyball team posted back-to-back 3-0 losses to open play in the 2012 Wells College Crossover Saturday afternoon on the campus of Wells College. After today's opening day of North Eastern Athletic Conference play, the Express' overall record falls to 1-11 while their NEAC record stands at 0-2. For a full ledger of the day's action, including box scores from all six participating teams, click here.
Against the Nittany Lions of Penn State Abington, the Express posted an opening game loss of 3-0 in the Frances Tarlton Farenthold Field House by set scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-20. As a team, the Express hit a collective .047 in the first set while hitting at a .143 clip in the final set but made 18 errors as opposed to their opponents' 11. Three different players recorded four kills for the Express, including Gina Cairns (Delhi, N.Y.), Katie Curtin (Cassville, N.Y.) and Taryn Heath (Homer, N.Y.). Heath led the way with 12 assists to her credit while libero Nicole Loeven (Pawling, N.Y.) chipped in 17 digs on the afternoon.
The Express also posted a season-high 54 digs on the afternoon, a program record. Loeven and Cairns contributed 18 of the team's digs, while Curtin and Zakarra Butts (Cortland, N.Y.) added nine and eight, respectively, to increase the team's total. Heath also led the way for the Express with a .273 hitting percentage, hammering home four kills with only one error.
Abby Millan posted a team-best 15 kills for the Nittany Lions, who hit a collective .211 in the match. Leah Brown put up 26 assists for Penn State Abington while four different Nittany Lions tallied double-digit dig totals, including 17 from Krysten Boyd.
Against the Bison of Gallaudet University, the Express posted set scores of 25-15, 28-8 and 25-12 in a 3-0 blanking. Cairns led all players with eight kills alongside six errors for an .083 hitting percentage, marking only the third time all season an Express player has finished the game with a positive hitting percentage (min. 20 attempts). Heath led the Express by assisting 12 of the team's 17 kills while Loeven tallied 15 digs of her own. Heath also chipped in two solo blocks as the Express totaled four blocks cumulatively.
For Gallaudet, Jessica Israel was a perfect 9-for-9 on her attacks, leading the team in that category. Sarah Tubert assisted 28-of-33 Gallaudet kills while Ann Whited posted 10 digs on the day. As a team, the Bison posted 33 kills alongside only 11 errors in 66 total chances (.333 hitting percentage).
In the second day of the 2012 Wells College Crossover, the Express will face-off against the Nittany Lions of Penn State Harrisburg at 12:00 p.m. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Wells College athletic department by "liking" us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/WellsExpress) and subscribing to our Twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/WellsExpress).
