Boston, Mass. – The Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball dropped a pair of matches at a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match featuring Suffolk and Emmanuel on Satuday afternoon at the Jean Yawkey Center on the campus of Emmanuel College. With the two setbacks, the Falcons moved to 5-13 overall and 0-5 in league play.
In the first match of the day, the Rams scored a 25-16, 25-20 and 25-20 triumph against Albertus Magnus. In the first set, After trading points to open the match, Suffolk rattled off eight straight to take a 10-1 advantage early on. Back-to-back aces from Khaleigh Khanna stretched the Rams' edge to 16-5. Suffolk maintained its lead down the stretch and set up match point, 24-11. The Falcons kept the Rams from securing a one-point lead for a little longer, however, as they went on a 5-0 run to cut Suffolk's lead to 24-16. Chidera Nwankwo finished the set off, however, with a kill, 25-16.
In the second game, Suffolk found itself in an early 6-3 hole that held at 10-6. The Rams would battle back to lock the score at 13-13 and a see-saw fair ensued. Bridget Allison knocked down consecutive kills to put the Rams in front for the first time in the set, 19-17. Albertus Magnus took a timeout to talk things over, but Suffolk held onto its slim edge. The Rams put the set away, 25-20, with consecutive kills from Allison, Jane Buckley and Leah Pedersen.
In the third and final game, Suffolk jumped ahead 4-1. Albertus Magnus came back to tie the score at 5-5 and it would tie twice more, first at 8-all, and 9-9. The Falcons used a 7-2 stretch to gain a 17-11 advantage. An 8-0 run by the Rams regained the lead for the blue-and-gold 20-17. Suffolk continued to role and outscored the Falcons, 5-3, the rest of the way to lock up with victory.
Emmanuel topped the Falcons in three sets by a score of 5-10, 25-8, 25-19 in the final match of the day. Albertus Magnus jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first set but it was short-lived as the Saints pulled away quickly behind the service game of Shelow and sophomore Katharine Journeay (Hampton, N.H.). Both rolled off five-point rallies for the Saints to help the hosts take an 18-6 lead before the first rotation was complete. Emmanuel held on for the 25-10 win as freshman outside hitter Allysan Cabral (Hope, R.I.) slammed home the final kill of the set.
The Saints jumped on the Falcons to open the second frame, racing out to a 10-1 lead to set the tone. The early deficit was too much for Albertus to overcome as EC kept the visitors in single digits in a 25-8 second frame.
The Falcons fought hard in the final set to try and extend the match, holding a lead midway through the action at 14-12 before Emmanuel closed the door on the afternoon. The Saints rattled off five straight points behind the service game of Church to take a 17-14 lead and never looked back en route to the 25-18 win.
For Albertus Magnus, freshman right side Ashley David (West Islip, N.Y.) posted a match-high in kills and digs, collecting seven winners and 16 put-ups. Junior Ana Gomez (New Haven, Conn.) was also in double-figures with 10 digs while junior Marielis Muriel (New Haven, Conn.) added eight digs and two service aces.
Albertus Magnus returns to action on Tuesday, October 11, with a home non-conference showdown against York that is slated to begin at 7:00 pm. The Falcons defeated the Cardinals, 3-0, earlier this fall in a neutral-site clash at the Blazer Invitational hosted by Elms.
For the latest information on the women's volleyball team and Albertus Magnus athletics, follow AMCAthletics on Twitter and visit AlbertusFalcons.com.