BOSTON, Mass. - The Albertus Magnus women's volleyball team split two Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matches on Saturday afternoon against Anna Maria and Emmanuel College. The Falcons defeated the AMCATS, 3-1 for their first GNAC win of the season before falling to Emmanuel, 3-0.
THE BASICS
MATCH 1: Albertus Magnus 3 | Anna Maria 1
MATCH 2: Emmanuel 3 | Albertus Magnus 0
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (6-11, 1-4 GNAC) | Anna Maria (2-16, 0-7 GNAC) | Emmanuel (12-4, 7-1 GNAC)
MATCH 1 VS. ANNA MARIA
Set 1: Albertus Magnus 27, Anna Maria 25
Set 2: Anna Maria 26, Albertus Magnus 24
Set 3: Albertus Magnus 25, Anna Maria 13
Set 4: Albertus Magnus 25, Anna Maria 15
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons rallied from an eight-point deficit and staved off a set point to steal the first set. The AMCATS took a 13-5 lead early on as they took advantage of errors from the Falcons and two aces from Serena Dennis. With the AMCATS leading 19-12, Albertus scored the next six points, five of them on kills. Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) led the charge with three kills in the set, while Elizabeth Lynch (Stratford, Conn.) and Nathalie Wallace (Rocky Hill, Conn.) each had one. Albertus tied the game at 21-21 and 22-22 before Anna Maria had set point at 24-22. However, the Falcons rallied, scoring five of the last six points, four of them on errors by the AMCATS to take the set, 27-25. The Falcons had 14 kills in the first set.
In set two, it was the Falcons who took the lead early on, going up by as much as four points at 17-13 after back-to-back kills by Lynch. Albertus looked in control after a kill from Joismar Aviles (Hatillo, Puerto Rico) made it a 21-17 game, but three straight points from Anna Maria cut the lead to one. Albertus held set point at 24-22 after an error by Anna Maria until the AMCATS scored the final four points, two of them on kills by Jana Hunt to tie the match at 1-1.
Both teams split the first 22 points of set three until the Falcons scored six straight to take control, 17-11 behind two kills apiece from Lynch and Pelaez. Anna Maria never got closer than five the rest of the way as Albertus scored eight of the final nine points to go up 2-1 in the match. Of those eight points Pelaez had an ace and a kill.
In set four, the Falcons had 13 kills, taking control of the set a quarter of the way through. Alexys Signor (North Haven, Conn.) had back-to-back aces during the set and Pelaez had eight assists. Kanishjoary Marrero-Martinez (Schenectady, N.Y.) had three of her four kills in the final frame.
LEADERS
Albertus
Majo Pelaez - 21 Kills
Shalese Gordon (Bridgeport, Conn.) - 34 Assists
Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) - 28 Digs
Elizabeth Lynch - 3 Blocks
Alexys Signor - 4 Aces
Anna Maria
Jana Hunt - 10 Kills
Julia Tarantino - 25 Assists
Serena Dennis - 20 Digs
Juliana Tarantino, Jana Hunt and Sarah Burt - 1 Block
Ashley Sheehan and Sarah Burt - 4 Aces
NOTEWORTHY
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The win was the first in GNAC play for the Falcons
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The 21 kills for Pelaez were a career-high, surpassing her previous high of 20.
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Gordon's 34 assists were a career-high. She has had more than 30 assists in three of four matches.
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Albertus finished with 51 kills, the most of the season.
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The Falcons have won five of the last six matches against Anna Maria and tied the all-time series 8-8.
MATCH 2 vs. Emmanuel
Set 1: Emmanuel 25, Albertus Magnus 15
Set 2: Emmanuel 25, Albertus Magnus 16
Set 3: Emmanuel 25, Albertus Magnus 11
HOW IT HAPPENED
Emmanuel opened up the first set with a 9-5 lead early on before the Falcons bounced back with four straight points, including two kills from Pelaez and one from Zdru. The Saints again went up by five points and the Falcons would rally again to get back within one at 16-15 after a kill from Marrero-Martinez. However, the Saints scored the final nine points to go up, 1-0 in the match.
The Saint took a commanding 10-1 lead to start set two and would lead by as much as 18-4. The Falcons cut the lead to as little as seven at 22-15 after four straight points, including a kill from Yarelis Torres and Pelaez. It was just two of the four kills the Falcons had in the set as the Saints took a 2-0 match lead.
Albertus took an early 4-3 lead in the third set as Marrero-Martinez and Pelaez each had a kill. It was the last lead the Falcons held as the Saints closed on a 22-7 run the rest of the way including a ten-point run halfway through. The Saints had a .368 attack percentage, and held the Falcons to -.161.
LEADERS
Albertus
Kanishjoary Marrero-Martinez and Majo Pelaez - 6 Kills
Shalese Gordon - 14 Assists
Amanda Zdru - 8 Digs
Paula Matheus (Tunja-Boyaca, Colombia) - 2 Blocks
Majo Pelaez - 2 Aces
Emmanuel
Isabella Marquez - 8 Kills
Brigid Moriarty - 19 Assists
Paula Tanguilig - 19 Digs
Isabella Marquez - 4 Aces
UP NEXT
The Falcons head to Bay Path for a non-conference matchup on Thursday, October 12 at 8 p.m.
