New Haven, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus women's volleyball team dropped its home opener, 3-1, versus Bay Path on Wednesday night inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center. The visiting Wildcats scored a 19-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-23 come-from-behind victory to improve to 3-1 on the year, while the Falcons dropped to 1-2 with their second consecutive setback.
Albertus came out charging, taking the first set to build an early, 1-0, advantage. In the opening game, the hosts broke open a 11-11 tie with four straight points courtesy of a kill by freshman middle hitter Megan Gritz (Milford, Conn.) and a pair of service aces by senior setter Ramona Onofrio (East Haven, Conn.)
In the second game, the two foes once again went back and forth early as a Bay Path service error knotted the tilt at 14 apiece. This time, it was the Wildcats that opened a lead thanks to a 9-0 run capped by an Albertus service error. During the spurt, Jennifer Pham notched two aces and the Falcons committed three attack errors and two ball-handling errors. Albertus Magnus cut the deficit to just three late in the frame, but Bay Path evened up the score following an Albertus attack error.
Albertus bounced back at the start of the third game, scoring the first five points with Onofrio at the service line. The visitors would answer with four unanswered points to get right back in the game. The teams would again go back and forth, swapping points and a kill by Falcons outside hitter Amber Cohens (Hamden, Conn.) brought the hosts within one at 22-21. Following the Cohens kill, the Wildcats ran off three straight points to take a 2-1 edge.
In the fourth and deciding game, the teams battled throughout. Trailing 19-14, Albertus Magnus came chagrining back to tie the stanza at 22 thanks to a service ace from sophomore Marielis Muriel (New Haven, Conn.). The hosts took a one-point lead at 23-22 after a kill from freshman outside hitter Gina Cintron (New Haven, Conn.). Albertus would commit a service error on the following play and Bay Path took advantage, scoring two points in a row to seal the triumph.
Offensively, the Falcons were led by Gritz with nine kills, while Cohens added eight of her own. Ana Gomez and Muriel were both a force on the offensive side, contributing six and five kills, respectively. Onofrio did a nice job distributing the ball, registering 22 assists. On the defensive side, both Cintron and Muriel had a team-high nine digs, while Gomez paced the squad with a pair of solo blocks.
The Wildcats were led by Lauren Vallee with 11 kills and a .346 attack percentage. Senior middle hitter Elizabeth Haylette recorded nine kills and freshman right side Taylor Heinbokel added five of her own. Freshman setter Lexi Cears had a game-high 23 assists for Bay Path. Defensively, Vallee had a game-high 15 digs and Cears added 12.
Albertus Magnus returns to action on Saturday, September 12, with a road contest versus CCNY at 5:00 p.m.