Chicopee, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball team split its season opener on Saturday afternoon to non-conference foes SUNY Cobleskill and Elms College as part of the Blazer Invitational. The Falcons swept the Tigers in match one in straight sets, 3-0, but was unable to stop the Blazers in match two, 3-1.
THE BASICS
MATCH 1 FINAL: Albertus Magnus 3 | SUNY Cobleskill 0
MATCH 2 FINAL: Elms 3 | Albertus Magnus 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-1) | SUNY Cobleskill (0-3) | Ems (3-0)
HOW TO HAPPENED
Match 1:
Albertus opened the match with the early 11-2 lead before the Tigers battled back to within five, 20-15, following a short run. The Falcons were able to resume control and close out the frame with a five-point lead, 25-20.
The second set was evenly matched between the two teams, but Albertus Magnus was able to take the frame away from the Tigers, 25-19.
Similar to set two, both teams battled to the very end as SUNY Cobleskill tied the set up at 23-23 following an attack error by the Falcons. However, a service error by the Tigers and a kill from Jaiden Williams (Orange, Conn.) gave the Falcons the two-points needed to earn their first win of the season.
Match 2:
Albertus carried its momentum into the second match as the Falcons took the opening set, 25-21,despite the Blazers cutting the lead to within three, 22-19.
Elms even the match up at 1-1 after taking set two, 25-21. Albertus Magnus rallied back to within three, 23-20, after finding themselves down by five, 20-15.
The Blazers extended their lead to 2-1 as the hosts claimed set three, 25-23.
It was an intense fourth set as both teams fought for the match point, battling through 12 ties and forcing extra points. Following back-to-back attack errors by the Falcons, Elms claimed the match, 3-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Match 1:
- Sophomore Genesis Cora Luquis (Meriden, Conn.) led the offensive attack with a team-high eight kills while adding 19 digs, a block, two service aces and an assist to her stat line.
- Junior Tierney Clancy (Meriden, Conn.) assisted 14 of the Falcons' 31 kills.
- Megan Brewer and Rachel Burke posted a game-high six kills apiece for the Tigers.
- The Falcons posted an 11-5 advantage in service aces, including a team-high five aces from junior Jesselle Guzman (Santa Teresa, N.M.).
- Five Falcons registered at least 10 digs each in the win.
Match 2:
- Three players registered a double-double for the Falcons,
- Cora-Luquis paced the Falcons offense for the second straight match with a team-high 16 kills, 25 digs, two assists, a service ace and a block.
- Clancy and Jaiden Williams (Orange, Conn.) assisted 23 and 19 kills, respectively.
- Danielle Redding was the lone Blazer to record double-digit kills with 12.
- The Falcons posted a 50-48 edge in kills and a 99-97 advantage in digs.
- Guzman led the Falcons in serving with a game-high eight aces.
- Freshman Vanessa Isyk (Meriden, Conn.) tallied 13 kills and 23 digs.
UP NEXT
Albertus Magnus returns to action next week with a non-conference match at Mitchell on Tuesday and a GNAC tri-match against Norwich and Emmanuel (Mass.) on Saturday.