HAMBURG, N.Y. – Hilbert College Women's Volleyball hosted their home opener against Empire 8 opponent, Houghton University.

The Hawks flip-flopped the scoring between the first and second sets but suffered consecutive set losses to the Highlanders and went down in a 3-1 defeat
  
The Hawks dropped to 1-3 while Houghton picked up their first win of the year.  
 
THE BASICS 

• Final Score:  Houghton 25, 9, 25, 25  |  Hilbert 13, 25, 18, 19 

• Location:  Hafner Recreation Center

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• Hilbert, trailing 15-10, collected only three more points in the opening set while the visitors put together a 10-point run to win 25-13.
• The Hawks jumped out to a 6-1 lead and stretched it to 16-4 before the Highlanders sliced it to a 10-point score (17-10).  Hilbert stacked three of their final points from kills for the 25-9 victory.
• Houghton built a 13-8 lead in the third set, yet the Hawks rallied with a four straight points thanks to Molly McKinnon's kill, two service aces and Elenor Rybicki kill which set a 12-13 score.  Hilbert knotted the set at 16-16 but the guests strung a trio of 3-point runs to grab the 25-18 win.
• The final set featured four lead changes and seven times where the score was tied.  Neither team was gaining any ground until Houghton regained the lead for the final time and put five points on the board, setting a 25-19 score.
• Molly McKinnon led a balanced offensive attack with seven kills and a team high 12 digs.  Elenor Rybicki added five kills and Natalie Ruhlmann chipped in 10 digs.  Jessee Jonathan (13) and Mackenzie Mitchell (7) quarterbacked the offense while Lynndee Ickes (2) and McKenna Rice (1) were each credited with solo blocks.

UP NEXT 
 
The Hawks have 10 days to prepare for another two-day tournament.  Hilbert will face Olivet and the hosts Bluffton on September 13^th then turnaround and face Wilmington and Denison the following day at the Sommer Center Spiketacular hosted by Bluffton University.