Junior Melissa Manning (Milford, Conn.) recorded 14 kills and nine digs to lift the Albertus Magnus women's volleyball to a 3-2 victory over the University of Saint Joseph Blue Jays on Monday night. After winning the first two sets, USJ battled back and earned consecutive wins to tie the match at two sets apiece before the Falcons earned their ninth win of the season.
With their ninth victory of 2012, the Falcons are now just one win away from tying their 1996 tally of 10 victories, the most for the program since that season. Albertus is 9-9 on the year and 3-6 in GNAC play.
The Falcons dominated play in the first two sets, winning 25-16 then 25-14, as they looked to earn a quick victory in three sets. The Blue Jays erased that idea as they took a 29-27 win in the third set after 17 tied scores and seven lead changes. In that frame, the Blue Jays registered 21 kills in 60 tries, while the Falcons picked up just 10 kills. The fourth set saw USJ win 25-21 to force the match into a fifth set.
The Falcons opened the final frame with a 6-1 run before a USJ timeout. The Blue Jays came out of the timeout with a 6-3 run of their own to cut the Albertus lead to two at 9-7 midway through the frame.
With the score 13-10, despite a hitting miscue by Nicole Acerra (East Haven, Conn.), back-to-back service errors by the Blue Jays clinched the Falcons' victory as they won 15-11.
Acerra finished the match with 20 digs, while Maritza Rosemond (New Haven, Conn.) registered 23 assists and 12 digs. Kelsey Pendagast (Shelton, Conn.) added eight total blocks for the Falcons as she tallied four solo and four block assists. Freshman Jenna Dececchi (West Haven, Conn.) also tallied three block assists for the Falcons along with four kills, while Emily Matousek (Hennessey, Okla.) added six kills for the Falcons.
USJ was led by Ciara Perez with 19 kills as Megan Williams dished out 47 assists. Elizabeth Tuazon recorded a match-high 23 digs as well.