New Haven, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker versus in-state rival Mitchell, 3-2, on Thursday evening in non-conference action at The Nest inside the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.
The Falcons (2-3) have now dropped three straight, two of which were in five game, while the Mariners (2-1) netted their third consecutive win against AMC after sweeping the season series last autumn.
Mitchell erased a 2-1 deficit to take the final two games and win by a score of 15-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-20 and 15-8.
Freshman outside hitter Ashley David (West Islip, N.Y.) led the charge for the hosts with a match and career-high 13 kills to go along with two assists and one service ace. Senior outside hitter Amber Cohens (Hamden, Conn.) continued her strong play with eight kills and a match-best nine service aces, while junior middle hitter Ana Gomez (New Haven, Conn.) chipped in seven kills. In the middle, junior Marielis Muriel (New Haven, Conn.) topped the 20-assist plateau for the fourth time this fall with 26 helpers.
Defensively, a trio of Falcons recorded 10 or more digs led by freshman libero Nashalie Bayona (New Haven, Conn.) with 17. Muriel and freshman defensive specialist Jesselle Guzman (Santa Terea, N.M.) both contributed 16 digs apiece.
The Mariners attack was led junior middle blocker Myia Williams with 10 kills and a match-high .400 hitting percentage, while junior right side Janelle Rice had five kills and senior outside hitter Amanda Rowan had four kills for the guests. In the middle, Rice and junior setter Lauren Tompkins combined for 17 assists. Junior Megan Elphick was effective at the service line with six aces as well for the Mariners.
On the defensive end, Mitchell libero Colby Zitoli had a match-leading 18 digs and Tompkins had 11 for the visitors. At the net, Williams had two solo blocks.
In the deciding fifth set, AMC jumped out to an early 3-1 edge following a back-to-back kills from Cohens and David. The Mariners came back to knot the score at four and reeled off six of the seven points to take a 10-5 lead. During the spurt, Mitchell took advantage of two Falcon attack errors and two AMC service errors.
The Falcons would battle back to pull within three at 11-8 before Mitchell scored the final three points of the match to earn the victory.
Albertus Magnus returns to action this weekend, with a pair of games at the Smith Invitational on Saturday, September 10. The Falcon open the day with neutral-site battle with Bryn Mawr before taking on the Host pioneers later in the day.
For the latest information on the women's volleyball team and Albertus Magnus athletics, follow AMCAthletics on Twitter and visit AlbertusFalcons.com.