Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ROCHESTER, N. Y. -- Nazareth's women's volleyball team split its Saturday matches by defeating visiting Sage in an Empire 8 Conference match before falling to visiting Ithaca in a non-conference match. The Golden Flyers defeated the Gators by the scores of 25-15, 25-17, 19-25, 25-15, then lost to the Bombers by the scores of 25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 30-28.

After Saturday's matches, Nazareth stands at 5-11 overall and 2-1 in Empire 8 matches. Following the loss, the Gators drop to 4-14 overall and 1-3 in conference contests. Ithaca improved to 12-3 overall after its victory.

In their match against Sage the Golden Flyers had five players record at least eight kills. Senior Kaylee Kelly tallied a team-high 11 kills while sophomore Tessa Grover added nine kills for the Golden Flyers. In addition, senior Eva Lyko, junior Jillian Panek, and freshman Rylie Loomis recorded eight kills apiece for the Golden Flyers' balanced attack. Grover amassed a team-high 30 assists to direct the Nazareth attack. Sophomore Zoe Tylipakis frustrated Sage at the service line with five aces, and she amassed a match-high 17 digs. Grover was a defensive force, too, with seven digs and a pair of assisted blocks. Lyko led the the team with three assisted blocks.

In Nazareth's match against Ithaca, Grover led the Golden Flyers with 12 kills while Kelly and Loomis tallied 11 kills apiece. Grover finished with a team-high 23 assists, and sophomore Ella Kules added 12 assists to direct Nazareth's attack. Defensively, Tylipakis finished with a match-high 15 digs, and Grover had a solo block and four assisted blocks.

Kelly led the Golden Flyers in the second set with five kills on eight attempts with no hitting errors. Grover and Panek totaled four additional kills with zero errors to help Nazareth win the set. In the third set, the teams traded points through most of the set before the Bombers stretched their lead to five points, 23-18. The Golden Flyers rallied to within one point after a kill by Kelly, a kill by Grover, and a pair of Ithaca attack errors before the Bombers prevailed.

In the fourth set, Nazareth rallied from an early 12-8 deficit following a pair of aces by sophomore Ruth Jackson, and the Golden Flyers stretched their lead to five points, 20-15, after an ace by Loomis. Nazareth led 24-20 before the Bombers' furious rally with four-straight points, then Ithaca outlasted the Golden Flyers, 30-28, to win the match.

The Golden Flyers are in action again on October 7th when they host Medaille in an Empire 8 match at 6 p.m.