Women's Volleyball Notches First NEAC Victory vs. Cazenovia

CAZENOVIA, N.Y. – Despite trailing two sets to one near the midpoint of the contest, the Wells College women's volleyball team posted a five set victory over the Wildcats of Cazenovia College Saturday evening in the second week of North Eastern Athletic Conference Pool Play. The victory marks the first conference win for the Express in program history – their overall record stands at 2-17 while their record within the conference stands at 1-5.

In the second game of the afternoon, the Express posted a five set victory with set scores of 25-23, 11-25, 15-25, 25-22 and 17-15 against Cazenovia. In the first set, the Express posted 12 kills as opposed to only six errors for a .157 hitting percentage. To secure the victory, the Express hit a combined .064 in the decisive fifth set, converting 11 kills in 31 total attack attempts.

Freshman Zakarra Butts (Cortland, N.Y.) made her mark in several different categories on the score sheet, hitting a team-best .292 by hammering home nine kills while making only two errors in 24 attempts. Butts also collected four service aces and four solo blocks in the match. Her 19 service attempts also ranked her second on the squad in that category.

Freshman Gina Cairns (Delhi, N.Y.) led the team with 12 kills to her credit – she also chipped in with 12 digs, placing second on the team in that category. Leilani Yasutake (Germantown, N.Y.) made four kills without an error in eight attack attempts and also combined with classmate Katie Curtin (Cassville, N.Y.) on a block assist.

Setter Taryn Heath (Homer, N.Y.) set a career-high mark with 32 assists, the highest total by any Express player this year. Her previous season high mark was set on Sept. 1, a 3-0 victory over Green Mountain College.

Against Cazenovia, the Express set several team records, including most kills in one game (39), most assists in one game (39) and total attacks (154) in one game. They also tied their season high of 61 digs, which was set earlier in the afternoon against SUNYIT, and total blocks in one game (6), equaling their total set against Green Mountain on Sept. 1. Wells College also made their first appearance in a five set game tonight.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Express posted a 3-0 loss to the Wildcats of SUNYIT to open the day's action by set scores of 29-31, 12-25 and 17-25. Wells College posted 13 kills in the opening set, opposed to only eight errors, for a .100 hitting percentage but hit negatively across the remaining two sets in the loss.

Curtin led all Express players with seven kills to her credit while Cairns chipped in with six kills. Heath, acting as the primary setter for the Express, added a service ace and 17 set assists while Curtin contributed defensively with 20 digs. The Express set a season-high with 61 digs on the game, a total which they matched in the day's second game.

Freshman Evelyn Abbott (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) also made her first collegiate appearances for the Express in this afternoon's slate of games.

The Express return to action Sunday, Oct. 7 as they face-off against Morrisville State College in a 10:00 a.m. contest to conclude the second weekend of NEAC Pool Play. 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).