Spartans Lose 2 at Adirondack Tourney

Cayuga Community College Volleyball dropped two matches but showed further signs of improvement Saturday in matches against SUNY Adirondack and Hudson Valley Community College.

Playing at SUNY Adirondack's pod tournament, the Spartans fell 3-1 to the host Timberwolves and 3-0 to the Vikings. Cayuga Coach Kiana Younis said the team continues to play better, with the performances Saturday a marked improvement over the loss Thursday to Corning Community College.

"I thought we played well, especially in the match against SUNY Adirondack. We pushed them pretty far in the first three sets," she said. "We worked really hard, shook off the early start time and played as well as we could all day."

The Spartans dropped a close first match to the Timberwolves 25-20, then came back to win the second match 25-23. SUNY Adirondack took the third set 25-21, then captured the fourth by a 25-10 margin.

Cassie Nolte paced the Spartans' attack, leading the team with 21 digs, 12 kills and three aces. Marrin Owens led the team with 14 assists.

Against the Vikings, the Spartans shook off a tough first set and struggles communicating on the court to play competitive second and third sets. The Vikings took the match by scores of 25-9, 25-15 and 25-19.

Nolte again led Cayuga with nine kills and Owens led with eight aces and 12 assists. Paige Lane led the team with eight digs.

The Spartans are back on the road Tuesday against Jefferson Community College. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m.