New Haven, Conn. – Junior outside hitter Amber Cohens (Hamden, Conn.) registered a season-high 14 kills to lead the Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball past visiting Elms, 3-1, in non-conference action on Thursday night inside The Nest at the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center. The Falcons netted their first home win of the fall by a score of 27-25, 25-20, 14-25 and 25-19.
With its second straight victory, Albertus Magnus improved to 5-13 on the year, while the short-handed Blazers dropped to 4-17 with the four-game setback.
Prior to the contest, the team honored senior setter Ramona Onofrio (East Haven, Conn.) for her contributions to the program. In her final home match as a Falcon, the five-foot captain registered a match-best 25 assists to go along with four service aces and a team-high 16 digs. The tilt marked the fifth time this autumn she has recorded 20 or more assists.
In the first game, the two foes traded points early. AMC built its lead up to as many as seven at 23-16 following a Blazer service error. Elms battled back, tying the game at 24 courtesy of a kill from middle hitter Lindsey McNiff. On the ensuing serve, McNiff registered another kill to give the visitors a one-point lead. After an Elms attack error, the Falcons scored back-to-back points capped by a kill from freshman middle hitter Megan Gritz (Milford, Conn.) to take 1-0 advantage.
In the second game, the Falcons registered eight kills and four service aces.Albertus Magnus broke open a 13-13 tie by netting 12 of the next 20 points for a commanding 2-0 lead. The home team also took advantage of seven Elms attack errors in the frame.
The visitors responded with a resounding 25-14 win in the third stanza. During the game, the Blazers never trailed and led by as many as nine thanks to a 5-0 run at the end to pull within one at 2-1. In the third game, Elms had 10 kills and took advantage of six Falcon attack errors.
AMC opened the fourth game with five straight points to take an early lead. Following an Elms timeout, the Blazers ran off 14 of the next 19 points to hold a 14-10 edge. Trailing 17-15 later in the frame with Gritz at the service line, Albertus ran off six straight points thanks to two service aces and a trio of kills to take a 21-17 lead. Down the stretch, the hosts scored the final three points capped by a kill from sophomore middle hitter Ana Gomez (New Haven, Conn.) to earn the win.
Offensively, Cohens led the charge for the Falcons, while Gomez added 11 kills and Gritz had 10 of her own. Cohens and Gritz also added three aces apiece. On the defensive end, Onofrio led the way and Gritz added nine digs and one block.
McNiff paced the Blazer attack with 15 kills and an impressive .412 attack percentage, while sophomore middle hitter Kate Moriarty added seven kills. Junior setter Carolyn Campbell did a good job distributing the ball, recording 24 assists. Defensively, Moriarty had a match-high 19 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Danielle Reddin added 14 of her own.
Albertus Magnus has now won three consecutive non-conference matches.
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, October 24, with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match versus Emmanuel and Suffolk hosted by the Rams.