Volleyball Powers Past Hilbert

Paige Golden, right, led Keuka with 20 digs and 17 kills as the Storm's women's volleyball team defeated Hilbert College in four sets Saturday.

The Keuka College women’s volleyball team continued its red-hot start to the 2011 season by defeating Hilbert College in four sets during Saturday’s home opener inside the Weed Physical Arts Center.

Sophomore Paige Golden (Kent, NY/Albion) recorded 17 kills with 20 digs while senior Hannah Doody (Tully, NY/Tully) added a team-high 21 digs as an efficient Storm attack ran past Hilbert by scores of 25-13, 25-15, 23-25 and 25-17.

With the win, Keuka improves to 4-0.

“We were definitely ready today,” said Golden, the reigning Keuka College Female Athlete of the Week who now has 51 digs and 44 kills through four matches.

“There was a lot of really good setting today, especially from Jill (Nolan) and Amie (Pizura). Our setting allowed us to really take control and make those big kills. … This win gives us a confidence boost and we’re really happy to get off to this fast start this year.”

After losing five starters from last year’s squad that went 18-10 and won the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) regular season title, the Storm has not missed a beat this year. Keuka has now won 12 of its last 13 sets after dropping the opening set of the first match of the season against Hilbert.

Doody admits she “was very nervous” as she wondered how her team would respond to losing so much talent from last year. Now that the season is progressing, Doody’s concerns have been replaced with a sense of trust and confidence in her teammates.

“So far our athleticism, our leadership and our team chemistry have been amazing, and those are all really important,” Doody said following the win.

“Today our communication was outstanding, everyone knew where the other players should be on the court and we executed well. We were able to switch up on defenses on a dime, and that allowed us to keep the lead the whole time. We had a higher intensity level than when we played them last.”

Nolan added a team-high 14 assists while freshman Devan Curtis (San Clemente, CA/San Clemente) recorded a season-high 13 kills in the win over Hilbert.

Doody served up a pair of aces as part of her eight-point service run as the Storm took a 12-1 lead in the first set.

Starting fast in the second set, the Storm jumped to a 5-0 lead as Nolan won five consecutive service points. Leading 18-7, Golden chipped in four kills to finish off Hilbert (1-2).

In the third set, Hilbert jumped out to a 14-9 lead before Keuka chipped away. A kill from Golden capped a 6-1 spurt as the Storm tied it at 15-all, but Hilbert hung on for the 25-23 win.

Trailing 3-2 in the fourth set, Keuka won nine of the next 13 points to take control with an 11-7 lead, and Nolan served up five consecutive service points to stake the Storm to a 17-7 lead. The last of Curtis’ 13 kills closed out the match after Hilbert had pulled within 23-17.

Keuka hits the road for a non-conference match at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford at 7 p.m. Tuesday night before opening up NEAC play with three-straight road matches Sept. 17-18. The Storm return home for a 7 p.m. showdown Sept. 22 with Alfred University.