LA PLUME, PA- Keystone College volleyball opened the 2026 season Tuesday night with a five-set battle against SUNY Delhi at the Gambal Athletic Center. The Giants took two of the first three sets and pushed the Broncos to the limit before Delhi pulled away in the deciding fifth set for a 3-2 victory.
Keystone wasted no time setting the tone in the opening set. The Giants took the first frame, 25-15, to jump out to an early 1-0 lead. Delhi responded in the second, taking the set by the same 25-15 score to even the match.
The Giants came right back in the third.
Keystone put together its strongest offensive set of the night, recording 12 kills while hitting .333 as a team. The Giants took the set, 25-16, and moved back in front 2-1.
With the Giants one set away from opening the season with a victory, the fourth set turned into a battle. Keystone and Delhi traded points throughout the frame, with the Giants continuing to fight as the set went beyond the usual 25-point mark. Delhi eventually took the set, 28-26, forcing a fifth and deciding set.
The fifth set saw Delhi gain control early, but Keystone continued to battle until the final point. The Broncos closed out the deciding frame, 15-7, to take the match 3-2.
Madison Woods (Camrose, Alberta, Canada/Ecole Camrose Composite) led the Giants offensively with 12 kills, while Isabella Buonopane (Wake Forest, N.C./Archbishop Williams) added nine. Woods also recorded Keystone's lone solo block. Rachel Davis (Mont Belvieu, TX/Barbers Hill) finished with five kills and Sydney Frasier (Loveland, CO/Thompson Valley) added four.
Keystone also had a strong showing from the service line. Aliya Noriega (Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage) led the Giants with six service aces, while Naema Alatorre (Brownsville, TX/Idea Frontier) recorded five. Noriega's six aces were a team high for the match.
Defensively, Victoria Crampton (Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada/Assumption Jr./Sr.) anchored the Giants with 18 digs. Alatorre and Nat Reyes (Lamont, CA/Arvin) each finished with eight digs, while Anna Johnson (Niles, MI/Niles) also recorded eight. Keystone finished with 67 total digs as a team.
The Giants' offense finished with 39 kills on 144 attacks, with the third set standing out as Keystone's most efficient offensive frame. Keystone also recorded five total blocks during the match.
After splitting the first two sets, Keystone responded with a 25-16 third-set win and then battled Delhi all the way to 28-26 in the fourth. The Giants ultimately came up short in the fifth, but not before putting together a full five-set fight in their first match of the season.
The Giants look to even their record as the team heads to Keuka Park, NY to take on a slew of teams in the Keuka College Invitation on September 4 and September 5.
