ELMIRA, NY – Sophomore Kaylee Kelly led the Nazareth College Women's Volleyball team with 16 kills and added 13 digs but Elmira College came back from a large early deficit to win a 26-24 set before finishing off the match with a four-set victory in an Empire 8 match Monday.

The match was the first for each team and the first in nearly 500 days for the Golden Flyers. The last time Nazareth played was November 9, 2019 against St. John Fisher in the Empire 8 Tournament.

Elmira (1-0) used a late run scoring seven out of eight points to take a 21-14 lead in the opening set. Nazareth (0-1) battled back to trim the lead to 23-21 but the Soaring Eagles scored the final two points on a serving error and a kill to post the 25-21 win.

In the second set, Nazareth opened up an early 6-1 lead and used a six-point run later to take a 15-7 advantage. Elmira trimmed the lead but eventually fell 25-18 as Kelly closed out the win with a kill.

After trading the first two sets, Elmira jumped out to an early 9-2 lead but Nazareth scored 11 of the next 13 points to take a 13-11 lead. The teams traded points as the Golden Flyers took a 20-16 lead before Elmira rallied for six of the next seven points to regain the lead at 22-21. The teams traded points down the stretch until the Soaring Eagles recorded a kill and an ace to close out the 26-24 win to take a 2-1 edge in the match.

Elmira opened up another early lead with an 11-4 edge and later used a 6-1 run to take a 22-11 lead. Nazareth scored four points late but fell 25-16 in the final set.

Junior McKenzie Hart had nine kills and 12 digs, freshman Kelly Taylor handed out 30 assists and sophomore Kelsey Ludwig led the Golden Flyers with 18 defensive digs.