NEW LONDON, N.H. - The Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball team lost two three-set Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matches to Regis College and Colby-Sawyer on Saturday to conclude its 2023 season on Saturday afternoon.
BASICS
MATCH 1: Regis 3 | Albertus Magnus 0
MATCH 2: Colby Sawyer 3 | Albertus Magnus 0
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (9-21, 2-13 GNAC) | Regis (24-7, 14-1 GNAC) | Colby-Sawyer (7-22, 5-10 GNAC)
MATCH 1 vs. REGIS
Set 1: Regis 25, Albertus Magnus 10
Set 2: Regis 25, Albertus Magnus 13
Set 3: Regis 25, Albertus Magnus 17
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pride scored the first three points of the first set before the Falcons could get to within one at 4-3 after a kill and an ace by Paula Matheus (Tunja-Boyaca, Colombia). From there, Regis went on a 10-1 run to take a 14-4 lead. Albertus never got closer than eight points the rest of the way as Regis scored eight of the final nine points. Matheus had three kills for the Falcons in the first set. Avery Mola had four kills to pace Regis.
Regis once again scored the first three points of the second set and extended its lead to 10-5 before the Falcons went on a 5-2 run with kills from Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) and Colleen Edwards (Clinton, Conn.). Regis finished on a 15-3 run as Princesa Gonzalez had two aces and Rita Dow, two kills for Regis down the stretch.
The Falcons took its first lead in any set in the third and led by as much as 8-5 as Edwards had two kills early on. Albertus didn't relinquish the lead until the Regis scored five straight points midway through the set to take a 16-12 lead as it took advantage of five consecutive Albertus attack errors. Regis never gave up the lead again. Pelaez had three kills in the set while Gordon and Edwards each had a pair.
LEADERS
Albertus
Majo Pelaez - 7 Kills
Shalese Gordon - 10 Assists
Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) - 8 Digs
Paula Matheus - 2 Aces
Regis
Avery Mola - 20 Kills
Allie Bietz - 13 Assists
Avery Mola - 5 Digs
Princesa Gonzalez - 3 Aces
Five tied - 1 Block
NOTEWORTHY
- The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Falcons.
MATCH 2 vs. COLBY-SAWYER
Set 1: Colby-Sawyer 25, Albertus Magnus 10
Set 2: Colby-Sawyer 25, Albertus Magnus 15
Set 3: Colby-Sawyer 25, Albertus Magnus 21
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colby-Sawyer scored the first five points of the first set before the Falcons got on the board on a kill from Yarelis Torres (East Haven, Conn.) and took advantage of a Chargers' error. The Falcons did not get closer as Colby-Sawyer ran away with the set the rest of the way behind four kills from Delaney Sourtis and three from Ally Majenski. Pelaez had two kills to lead the Falcons.
The beginning of set two was close as the teams split the first ten points as Joismar Aviles (Hatillo, Puerto Rico) had a kill and Matheus, an ace early on. It was the last time the teams would tie as the Chargers went up 12-7 as the Falcons made seven errors during the stretch. Albertus got within three points after a kill from Pelaez, but would be the closest they'd get as Skourtis had three kills over the last 13 points for Colby-Sawyer.
The two teams played a back-and-forth third set as no one led by more than three points through the entire set until the final point. Edwards had four kills and Kanishjoary Marrero-Martinez (Schenectady, N.Y.) and Matheus each had three. The teams were knotted at 21-21, but the Chargers scored the final four points as Majenski had two kills and one from Ari Cuevas to close out the match.
LEADERS
Albertus
Colleen Edwards - 5 Kills
Shalese Gordon - 14 Assists
Amanda Zdru - 8 Digs
Alexys Signor (North Haven, Conn.) and Paula Matheus - 1 Ace
Colby-Sawyer
Delaney Skourtis - 8 Kills
Brooke Patnode - 26 Assists
Audra Fontes - 11 Digs
Abby Williams - 5 Aces
- NOTEWORTHY
- Zdru finished the regular season with 5.10 digs per set and 546 digs, both which led the GNAC.
- Pelaez had 3.21 kills per set, which was fourth in the GNAC. She was ninth in kills with 270.
- The Falcons led the GNAC in solo blocks with 77.
- Gordon was fourth in the GNAC with 514 assists.
- The nine wins for the Falcons this season were tied for the most since 2019.