HAMBURG, N.Y.  – Hilbert College Volleyball came to play tonight as they battled against a once-beaten Lycoming College Warriors in front of a large and encouraging crowd in the Hafner Recreation Center.
 
The Hawks found success hitting over Lycoming's hands above the net, but the visitors escaped with a 3-2 win, improving to 7-1 on the season while the Hawks steadied themselves at 3-4 overall.
 
THE BASICS

Final score:  Lycoming 25, 24, 19, 25, 15  |  Hilbert 12, 26, 25, 21, 9
Location: Hafner Recreation Center | Hamburg
Records: Hilbert 3-4, Lycoming 7-1

HOW IT HAPPENED -  
 
Hilbert, playing in their first 5-set match of the season, collected 48 kills, 44 assists, 59 digs, four solo blocks and six block assists without committing any ball handling errors.
 
Maria Spinelli (2 solo blocks) and Michaela Rice each recorded double digit kills, posting 12 and 10 respectively.  Rice also chipped in 12 digs, collected the team's first double double of the year.
 
Katie Kociszewski added eight kills, two service aces, two solo blocks and was a helper on two additional blocks at the net. 
 
Natalie Ruhlmann was very involved leading with 19 digs but touched the ball after almost every Warrior serve, and Jessee Jonathan was credited with 35 of the team's 44 assists.  

• The opening set was played at a slow but comfortable pace for both teams as they traded points until 9-all.  Lycoming went on a 10-1 run and put the first match in their favor.
• The second set started out the same, but Hilbert pulled ahead by four points and maintained that lead until 22-17.  But Lycoming knotted the set at 24-24 only to fall behind again in the 26-24 Hilbert win.
• Lycoming jumped out to a 12-7 advantage, forcing a Hilbert timeout.  Ruhlmann served the hosts back in the game at 12-all and Kociszewski recorded two service aces in her five-point run to lift Hilbert 21-17.  Kara Valvo pulled another point from the service line as Hilbert went up 2-1 in sets.
• Set four mirrored the first three sets with both teams trading serves.   Lycoming stacked seven points together as they stretched a one-point set to a 22-17 margin.  Four different Hawks recorded four consecutive kills to pull within one (22-21) but Lycoming toughed it out to force the fifth set.
• With the score tied at 7-7, Lycoming's 8th point forced a bench shift and that seemed to be the difference.  The Warriors held a 12-7 lead before winning the match 15-9. 

UP NEXT
The Hawks will travel to the North Country Classic this weekend.  Hilbert will play two matches at SUNY Canton (Plattsburgh State) on Friday and then played two more matches at SUNY Poly (Northern Vermont University – Johnson) on Saturday.