Utica, NY – Brooke Hite had a career high 13 kills in the game against SUNY Poly and Emerson Coulter had a team-high 23 kills in a two-game span as the SUNY Canton volleyball team beat the SUNY Poly Wildcats 3-1 after hitting a staggering .310 in the game but lost 3-0 against the Hilbert Hawks in their second game at the SUNY Poly Tri-Match Saturday afternoon.

In the first game against SUNY Poly, the Roos won the first set in their eighth straight match 25-17, dropped the second set 25-23, but bounced back to win the next two 25-13 and 25-16. In the third match of the season against Hilbert, SUNY Canton dropped three in a row 25-18, 25-20, and then 25-17.

THE BASICS

• Result: Match 1: SUNY Canton 3, SUNY Poly 1 | Match 2: Hilbert 3, SUNY Canton 0
• Location: Wildcat Field House – Utica, NY
• Records: SUNY Canton (7-11) | SUNY Poly (6-7) | Hilbert (12-7)

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
MATCH 1 – BOX SCORE

• The Roos wasted no time putting the tri-match's hosts into a hole after Coulter had three early kills and Daycee Bane had two aces to put the Roos ahead 8-2.
• SUNY Poly pulled within two points 12-10 and later one point, 17-16, but the Roos responded with a 4-0 spurt to get ahead 21-16.
• These four points were part of an 8-1 extended run and Abby Raven had three consecutive service aces to end the set 25-17 in favor of the Roos.
• Contrary to set one, set two was controlled by the Wildcats early on as they doubled up the Roos 14-7.
• SUNY Canton went on a 4-0 run with Coulter adding two more kills to trim the deficit to 14-11, but SUNY Poly maintained between a 2–4-point edge through the middle of the set.
• With the Wildcats leading 23-21, Lauren Norman connected with Raven for a kill and then a SUNY Poly attacking error made the game 23-23, tying the game for the first time since it was 2-2. However, the Roos could not finish the set and lost by the narrowest of margins 25-23.
• SUNY Canton brought back some of that first-set-success in the third set after they led

8-1 and then later went on a 5-0 run highlighted by three straight kills from Isabella Cruz to lead 15-4 which was the largest lead for either side in the match.

• The Wildcats pushed back with four straight points, but never scored back-to-back points the remainder of the set and an ace by Coulter sealed the game 25-13.
• In the game's final set, the Roos led by a slim margin to begin with, but with the score at 11-10, they pulled away with a couple kills each by Coulter and Tionna Edghill as part of a 9-2 scoring run.
• SUNY Canton held at least a six-point led the rest of the way and back-to-back kills by Brooke Hite gave the Roos the 3-1 victory.

 
MATCH 2 – BOX SCORE

• The Roos were in the game early in the first set, until a 7-2 Hilbert run gave the Hawks an 18-12 advantage.
• The rest of the set was quite evenly played, but the Roos were unable to get any scoring runs going and fell 25-18 to begin the match.
• SUNY Canton played from behind in the second set as well, and although it was a narrow Hilbert lead early, that was not the case after a 6-1 run made it 16-9 in favor of the Hawks.
• The Roos went on a small 3-0 run with a kill by Raven to make it 16-12, but Hilbert then restored their 7-point lead to 22-15.
• SUNY Canton made a valiant comeback effort with a 5-2 run thanks to an ace by Norman and a kill by Coulter, but the Hawks ended the set 25-20 to pull ahead 2-0 in the match.
• In the third set, Hilbert looked the best they had all game with an early 14-7 lead and then 17-10 advantage later on.
• Late-set kills by Madison Bigelow and Raven were not enough as the Hawks took the final set 25-17 to beat the Roos for the third time this season.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
 

• Coulter led the Roos with 23 kills, five service aces, and was second on the team with 19 digs. Hite set a career-high with 13 kills in the first game against SUNY Poly.
• Raven was second on the team with 15 kills across the two games and added five blocks. McKenna Pelech set a career-high with four blocks in the game against Hilbert.
• Cruz was first on the team with 24 digs and also contributed with 13 kills and four blocks. The New Jersey freshman is currently third in the SUNYAC with 223 digs. Bane had 18 digs and three service aces.
• The Roos .310 hitting percentage in the game versus SUNY Poly was a season high. This included Hite at .440 (13-2-25), Raven at .400 (9-1-20), and Coulter with .350 (17-3-40).

 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Roos will start SUNYAC-play at home next weekend on Friday, October 3 for a 6 p.m. game against SUNY Oneonta.     


Discover SUNY Canton, where innovation meets opportunity. The college's career-focused educational programs emphasize hands-on and applied learning opportunities in digital design, engineering technology, health, information technology, management, public service, and veterinary technology. Faculty members bring real-world experience and exceptional academic expertise to the classroom. As a leader in online education, SUNY Canton offers unmatched flexibility with hundreds of courses and 25 comprehensive degree programs offered completely online. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the SUNYAC. In addition to its 15 traditional teams, SUNY Canton offers coed varsity esports and cheerleading.