Thrilling Comeback Caps Doubleheader Sweep

CORTLAND, N.Y. – After setting down the Pioneers from Utica College in straight sets, the Wells College women's volleyball team overcame a 2-0 deficit to post a thrilling 3-2 victory over Nazareth College on Friday to open the Red Dragon Invitational. Wells moves to 2-1 on the year following the doubleheader sweep.

Wells has now defeated Utica in straight sets for the second-straight year. In the process, Wells posted the third-best attacking percentage (.329) in team history. Later in the day, the Express played Nazareth for the first time since restarting its varsity volleyball program in 2012 – the win over the Golden Flyers is the team's first since Nov. 8, 1976.

After posting back-to-back set losses by a 25-19 score to fall behind 2-0 to Nazareth, Wells rattled off set scores of 25-21 and 25-23 before achieving an 18-16 win in the decisive fifth set to record the win. Despite committing 14 attacking errors in the first two sets and 10 alone in the second set, Wells hit in all positive figures as a team for the remainder of the match – in total, three players record 10 or more kills.

Senior Vashti Nettles (Long Beach, Calif.) led the team with 14 kills while both junior Meredith Kadjeski (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) and sophomore Anuhea Leite-Ah Yo (Hilo, Hawaii) each posted 12. Sophomore Eliza Schwab (Hartland, N.Y.) recorded 37 assists for Wells while classmate Olyvia Brazier (Stony Brook, N.Y.) racked up 22 digs defensively. Leite-Ah Yo chipped in with 15 digs while junior Nadine Pershyn (Buffalo, N.Y.) reached double-digits with 11.

The Express dispatched Utica via set scores of 25-10, 25-13 and 25-19. Committing only six attacking errors across the entire match, Wells was led by 11 kills from Nettles. Schwab set up 20 of her team's 27'kills and added a career-high six service aces. Brazier tallied eight kills and three service aces in the win.

Wells concludes the Red Dragon Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 5, facing-off against Fredonia St. and Hartwick at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively, on the campus of SUNY Cortland.