ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team was up after three sets of play but fell in Empire 8 action in five sets to Nazareth College on Tuesday evening in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
 
The Saxons (7-12, 0-5 Empire 8) lost the first set, 25-14 and then won the second and third sets, 25-18, 25-17 before the Golden Flyers (9-7, 3-1 Empire 8) won the fourth and fifth sets, 25-22, 15-9.
 
Four players combined for 70 of the Saxons' 81 digs as Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) led the match with 26 digs. Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) and Anjoeline Armstrong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) both recorded 17 digs on the evening. Amanda Burns (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) also had double-digits with 10 digs. "I'm proud of this team and how we played tonight," Head Coach Dakota Pruiss said. "I thought Darian [Ortiz] was fearless in key moments and kept us alive due to her leadership."
 
Ortiz also had an impressive showing from the service aspect of the match, getting a match-high five aces as AU edged Naz in the stat-line, 14-13 in service aces. Leading Alfred University in the points column was Sarah Raeman (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) as she totaled 20.5 points from 17 kills, three aces and one block assist while chipping in seven digs.
 
Three other Saxons had 8.0 or more points with Chun and Rylee Russin (Broomfield, CO/Broomfield) both having 8.5 points and Honor Edmands (Reno, NV/Reno) with an even 8.0. Russin earned hers with eight kills and one block assist while Chun had six kills, two aces and an assisted block (with Russin). Edmands had seven kills and two block assists.
 
Burns had 36 set assists on the evening for a match-high. Both AU and Naz had 40 set assists as a team.
 
The fourth set was a roller-coaster of momentum between the two sides of the court that had five lead changes and nine score ties. AU built a 13-8 lead in the set before Naz went on a 6-0 run to get the 14-13 advantage. The Saxons saw their last lead just points later, 16-15 before another Flyer run got them a 22-18 lead. Alfred University pushed back with a 4-1 run to bring it within one point, 23-22 after kills from Russin (assist Burns) and Raeman (assist Ortiz). An AU service error and a Naz ace pushed the match to the fifth set.
 
After Alfred University fought back from an early fifth set deficit, getting on top 9-8, the front line of Nazareth won the match, going on a 7-0 run with three points coming from blocks at the net.
 
The Saxons will next head to Elmira College on Tuesday, October 19 for a 6:00pm opening serve in Empire 8 action.