ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's volleyball team picked up an Empire 8 win, defeating Elmira College on Tuesday evening on the road, 3-2.
 
Rylee Russin (Broomfield, CO/Broomfield) and Sarah Raeman (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua) for the Saxons (8-12, 1-5 Empire 8) as Raeman had a team-high 19.0 points while Russin hit career-highs in kills and points as all 18 kills made up her point total. Raeman had a double-double as she added 10 digs to her 16 kills while also chipping in two aces and two block assists.
 
Honor Edmands (Reno, NV/Reno) neared double-digits with a 9.5-point performance from nine kills and a block assist.
 
Amanda Burns (Pine Bush, NY/Pine Bush) led the Saxons and the entire match in set assists as she had 44 on the evening, going along with her two kills, eight digs and service ace.
 
"We overcame a ton of internal adversity tonight with learning to win. I'm also even prouder of doing that in such a hostile environment with a packed gym who was certainly out to get us," Head Coach Dakota Pruiss said. "Raeman came through tonight offensively and I think Burns had a stellar performance. This win feels good."
 
The defense kept AU in the match as Darian Ortiz (Santa Fe, NM/St. Michael's) led with 22 digs. She also had a team-high four aces. Jamie Chun (Hilo, HI/Hilo) was second with 14 digs while Anjoeline Armstrong (Simi Valley, CA/Bishop Alemany) rounded out the back line with 13 digs.
 
The first three sets of the match had identical scores of 25-22 with the Saxons getting the high number in the second set. The fourth set nearly saw the same score but AU got to 25 with the Soaring Eagles sitting at 21 points, forcing the fifth and deciding set…which was also decided by three points as the Saxons claimed the night with a 15-12 finisher.
 
Elmira had the momentum in the nightcap with a 10-8 advantage. Four Raeman kills, a Raeman-Edmands block, an Ortiz ace and some mishaps from the Elmira side put the match in favor and out of reach for the Soaring Eagles.
 
The Saxons will next host their two final Empire 8 matches on Friday and Saturday, October 22 and 23, respectively as they take on Russell Sage College at 7:00pm on Friday and Hartwick College at 4:00pm on Saturday in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.