Spartans Capture First Win in Comeback Against Panthers

Cayuga Community College Spartans Volleyball started the 2022 season with a dramatic comeback victory against Tompkins Cortland Community College on Saturday.

After losing the first two sets, the Spartans stormed back to take the next three from the Panthers to capture their first win. Cayuga was unable to continue the momentum from the opening win, losing the next two matches in the pod tournament to Corning Community College and SUNY Broome.

First-year Cayuga Coach Kiana Younis, who picked up her first win as a coach, said she was proud of the effort and improvement she saw from the team.

"We played great, and we were missing a player so some players were out of position today. Given those circumstances, I thought we played well," she said.

The Spartans started the first match by dropping sets 25-18 and 25-23 before settling down to take the third set 25-23 and the fourth 25-18. Cayuga captured the fifth set 15-8 for the win.

Younis said the team was a little nervous in their first match of the season, but managed to refocus and comeback for the win.

"We struggled with some first game jitters, I think. We talked to them, and said it's just like in practice. Settle down, focus on your shots, and that's what they did," said Younis.

Against the Panthers, Cassie Nolte led the Spartans with 22 kills, Zoe DeRousie had 37 assists, Paige Lane had 12 aces and Elisabeth Waterman had 10 digs.

Later in the day the Spartans lost back-to-back 3-0 matches to Corning and SUNY Broome. Against Corning, Nolte and DeRousie led the Spartans with 11 kills and 16 assists, respectively, and Waterman had eight digs. In the match against SUNY Broome, Waterman had four kills, DeRousie had seven assists and Nolte and Laine had eight digs apiece to lead the team.

The Spartans are back on the road Wednesday, September 14, at Finger Lakes Community College. The match starts at 6 p.m.