NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball team lost both ends of a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) to Lasell University and Rivier University, both by, 3-1 scores on Saturday afternoon.
THE BASICS
MATCH 1: Lasell 3 | Albertus Magnus 1
MATCH 2: Rivier 3 | Albertus Magnus 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (7-19, 2-11 GNAC | Lasell (21-4, 10-3 GNAC) | Rivier (15-8, 9-3 GNAC)
MATCH 1 vs. Lasell
Set 1: Albertus Magnus 25, Lasell 23
Set 2: Lasell 25, Albertus Magnus 15
Set 3: Lasell 25, Albertus Magnus 12
Set 4: Lasell 25, Albertus Magnus 9
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons sent a jolt through Lasell's system in the first set, scoring the first four points as Shalese Gordon (Bridgeport, Conn.) had two aces and Colleen Edwards (Clinton, Conn.) had a kill to kick off the match. Albertus would lead by as much as 9-2 after a kill from Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) and Nyanna Richards and two straight aces from Paul Matheus. Lasell crept back and got within a point multiple times until the Falcons went on a 5-1 run to take a 23-18 lead after a kill from Gordon. The Lasers then scored the next five, two on kills from Kyra Paris to tie the set at 23-23. However an error and a kill from Edwards gave the Falcons the 1-0 match lead. Lasell never led in the first set.
Set two saw the Lasers open up a 13-5 lead before the Falcons scored five straight, two of them on aces from Gordon as Albertus closed the gap to 13-10. It was the closest the Falcons got the rest of the way as the Lasers scored seven of the last eight points, including two more kills from Paris.
In set three, the Falcons took a brief 2-1 lead after two kills from Kanishjoary Marrero-Martinez (Schenectady, N.Y.) to open the scoring for Albertus. From there, the set was all Lasell, as they took a 15-5 lead behind two more kills from Paris. Albertus did not get any closer than eight the rest of the way.
In the fourth and final set, Marrero-Martinez scored the first point before the Lasers scored seven straight to make it a 7-1 lead. Lasell extended its lead to 20-6 and never let the Falcons back in the set to take the match.
LEADERS
Albertus
Colleen Edwards - 8 kills
Shalese Gordon - 4 Aces
Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) - 17 Digs
Shalese Gordon - 14 Assists
Shalese Gordon- 3 blocks
Lasell
Kyra Paris - 14 Kills
McKenna McCool, Maddie Caro, and Saige Combonga- Meyers - 2 aces
Maddie Caro - 12 Digs
Saige Cambonga-Meyers - 26 Assists
Juliana Medini - 5 blocks
NOTEWORTHY
Gordon's three blocks were a season-high.
MATCH 2 vs. Rivier
Set 1: Albertus Magnus 25, Rivier 17
Set 2: Rivier 25, Albertus Magnus 22
Set 3: Rivier 25, Albertus Magnus 11
Set 4: Rivier 25, Albertus Magnus 20.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Similar to their first match, the Falcons came out firing on all cylinders, taking an 8-3 lead behind two kills from Nyana Richard and two from Pelaez to go with two aces from Paula Matheus. Rivier battled back to take a 12-10 lead after back-to-back kills from Ali Rivera. With the set tied at 14-14, the Falcons went on a 6-1 run as Matheus and Pelaez each had a kill. The Falcons scored the final five points on the set as NAthalie Wallace and Edwards had kills as Albertus took a 1-0 match lead.
In set two, Albertus conceded the first three points to the Raiders as Rivier set the tone early. The Raiders took a 13-6 lead before Marrero-Martinez led a rally with three kills during a 6-1 run as the Falcons cut their deficit to 14-12. The Raiders again stretched the lead to 18-13, but five more points from Albertus, including two kills from Richards made it an 18-18 game. The match was tied, 20-20, but Rivier pulled away to tie the match.
Set three was all Rivier, jumping out to a 19-4 lead and leaving little doubt. The Falcons had just three kills in the set.
In the final set, the Falcons took an early 8-4 lead as Marrero-Martinez had a kill and Alyssa Valentine had an ace early on. The Falcons led late at 18-16, but seven straight points from Rivier, including two kills from Lily Sills gave the Raiders some breathing room at 23-18 as they took the match just four points later.
LEADERS
Albertus
Nyanna Richards and Majo Pelaez - 5 kills
Shalese Gordon - 15 Assists
Amanda Zdru - 13 Digs
Paula Matheus and Colleen Edwards - 2 Aces
Nyanna Richards - 1 Block
Rivier
Ali Rivera - 13 Kills
Ryan Hicks - 19 Assists
Sofia Pawlusik - 16 Digs
Sofia Pawlusik - 5 Aces
Callie Nanos - 3 Blocks
UP NEXT
The Falcons remain at home as they take on Fitchburg State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31.
