COBLESKILL, NY

UMPI Volleyball followed up on last weekend's soccer trip to New York as they visited Cobleskill on Friday night. Unfortunately for UMPI, they couldn't keep their two-game conference winning streak going as they fell in two very competitive matches.

Match 1: 3-1 Tigers

Match one began how a lot of sets have gone for UMPI this year: a nail biter. Nobody could really gain an edge over the other, and the Owls' biggest lead was at 11-8, and then eventually 18-15. Cobleskill only led when it was 8-7 and then reclaimed the lead late with a five point run, going up 20-18. UMPI rallied to tie it as the teams traded points all the way until they were tied at 25. Cobleskill promptly took the next two points to win the first set 27-25.

Set two was also uber-competitive, but Cobleskill took a small four-point lead earlier this time at 13-9. They expanded it to 19-12, forcing UMPI to come from behind late. The Owls did exactly that, winning nine of the next 11 points to tie the set at 21. UMPI even grabbed a 23-22 lead, but then surrendered the next three points to give Cobleskill a 2-0 lead in the first match.

The Owls came out hot in the third set, grabbing a 14-6 lead as they played their best ball of the night to that point. Cobleskill tried to stay in it, but UMPI stood tall this time, leading at 20-13 and they looked poised to close out this set. Cobleskill then rallied for nine of the next 11 points, much like UMPI did the set prior, and the set was tied at 22. With the roles reversed, the Owls then scored the final three points of the set to avoid the sweep and keep the conference match going, trialing 2-1.

As high as UMPI must have been after seizing the momentum by closing out the third set, the Fighting Tigers responded with the most dominant stretch all evening. They ran out to a 10-2 lead to start the fourth set, and UMPI couldn't stop them. Cobleskill put together run after run, as UMPI couldn't string any points together to try and mount a comeback. The Tigers took the final set 25-8, and the match 3-1.

Top Performers:

Rylie Kolkow led the Owls with seven kills while Bailey Rosentreter and Evelyn Elijah had six and five kills respectively. Mia Gutierrez, Elijah, and Brooke Gardner all had three service aces to lead UMPI in that category. Brooke Gardner paced the offense with 20 assists, and Mia Gutierrez led the team in digs with 18. Maubi Mateo, UMPI's libero had 16 digs as well.

Match 2: 3-1 Tigers

In another extremely competitive match, the Tigers stood strong once again as they closed out three tight sets of four. Set one ended up 25-23 Tigers as they turned a 15-10 deficit into a 20-15 lead—the longest run for either team in both matches. The Owls clawed back to try and salvage it, but Cobleskill outlasted for the first set victory.

Set two was another dominant start for Cobleskill, as they launched another 10 point run to go up 10-1 after UMPI scored the first point. The Owls weren't done, as they fought to get back in it. They cut the Cobleskill lead to 13-11 and spurted off a 4-0 run late to make it 23-22 Cobleskill. The Tigers won two of the next three to win yet another agonizingly close set, 25-23.

As if things couldn't get any more evenly matched, they did exactly that. The Owls took the lead early in the third set, going up 11-5, before it was Cobleskill's turn to make a comeback. The Tigers won six of seven points to make it 12-11 Owls, and then they took a one point lead at 17-16 with another min-run. UMPI had to fight to avoid the sweep again, and they did—closing out the set winning five of the last six points for another 25-23 final score.

In the fourth set, the Tigers bounced back again. It was back and forth little runs as it had been all day, but Cobleskill closed out the set strong, not letting UMPI string points together for a final score of 25-20, and another 3-1 match.

Top Performers:

Mia Gutierrez and Jade Anspach led the attack this time with seven kills each while Brooke Gardner had six. Hailey Saylor led in service aces with a pair. Rylie Kolkow and Evelyn Elijah shared the lead in Blocks each with two. Gardner again led in passing with 19 assists. Gutierrez and Maubi Mateo each had 13 digs to lead UMPI while Nyla Guiboche had 11.

Next Up:

UMPI falls to 4-9 overall and sit at 2-3 in conference play. The Owls will play two more matches Saturday with an 11 a.m. conference matchup at SUNY Delhi, and a 1 p.m. non-conference match against SUNY Morrisville, hosted at Delhi's court.