Box | Tournament site
UTICA, N.Y. -- Nazareth suffered its first Empire 8 Conference defeat in women's volleyball Saturday as Stevens outlasted the Golden Flyers in a five-set match at the E8 Crossover at Utica. Stevens won by scores of 20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 21-25, 15-13.

The loss was the third in a row for the Golden Flyers, who had won 10 of 11 prior to that. Nazareth is 4-1 in conference matches and 17-11 overall. Stevens also is 4-1 in conference play and 11-15 overall. Nazareth has two more matches Sunday -- vs. Hartwick at 10 a.m. and vs. Ithaca at 2 p.m. The Golden Flyers need wins in those two matches to stay in the running for hosting privleges for the E8 Tournament Nov. 3-4.

Against Stevens, Nazareth lost despite an all-around strong effort from senior Aubrey Cooke, who combined 14 kills with 26 assists. She had just three hitting errors for a .478 hitting percentage. She also had three service aces and three digs.

Sophomore Olivia Harrigan also had 14 kills and sophomore Chelsea Beecher had 11. Senior Brittany Crocetti had 27 assists and 16 digs.