NORTHFIELD, VT - The Albertus Magnus College volleyball team split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match dropping the first match, 3-0 to Simmons University before sweeping Norwich University, 3-0 for their first conference win of the season.

Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) had a career-high 47 digs in the match against Norwich. Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) had 11 kills against Norwich and Emma Fallon (Harwinton, Conn.) set a career-high with nine kills against the Cadets. Paula Matheus  (Tunja-Boyaca, Colombua) had seven blocks on the day, including five against Norwich. Shalese Gordon (Bridgeport, Conn.) had 29 assists in the second match to go with 12 digs.

THE BASICS

MATCH 1: Simmons 3 | Albertus Magnus 0

MATCH 2: Albertus Magnus 3 | Norwich 0

MATCH 1

SET 1: Simmons 25 | Albertus 17

SET 2: Simmons 25 | Albertus 18

SET 3: Simmons 25 | Albertus 22

RECORDS: Albertus (5-7, 0-3 GNAC) | Simmons (3-8, 1-0 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus did not lead in the first set as Simmons jumped out to a 7-2 lead early on. Albertus got to within 7-5, but the Sharks would then extend its lead to 20-11 behind two aces from April Beatty and three consecutive kills by Hannah Pridgeon. The Falcons bounced back and scored four straight that included an ace from Alyssa Valentine (Bristol, Conn.) and a kill from Gordon, but it'd be as close as they'd get as Simmons took a 1-0 lead in the match. Matheus had three kills in the first set.
• The Falcons scored the first two points of the second set behind a kill from Nathalie Wallace (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and Yarieshka Sierra (Hartford, Conn.). Simmons scored the next six points, taking advantage of five attack errors from Albertus. Albertus trailed 21-11 but went on a 7-2 run to cut their deficit to 23-18. During the run, Pelaez had three kills and Nyanna Richards (Bridgeport, Conn.), two. The Sharks scored the final two points, including a kill from Pridgeon to end the set.
• The final set saw eight ties and three lead changes over the first 25 points. Wallace, Pelaez, Richards and Matheus had kills during the first half of the set. The Sharks opened up a 23-17 lead, but Albertus battled back as Matheus had two aces and Gordon another kill to close the gap to 23-22. Simmons scored the final two points on Albertus errors to take the set and close out the match.

LEADERS

Albertus

Majo Pelaez - 6 Kills

Shalese Gordon - 17 Assists

Paula Matheus - 3 Aces

Amanda Zdru - 18 Digs

Paula Matheus - 6 Blocks

Simmons

Hannah Pridgeon - 12 Kills

Alicia Beatty - 20 Assists

April Beatty - 3 Aces

Carolina Rodriguez - 27 Digs

Kira Buonopane - 5 Blocks

MATCH 2

SET 1: Albertus 25 | Norwich 22

SET 2: Albertus 25 | Norwich 12

SET 3: Albertus 25 | Norwich 20

RECORDS: Albertus (6-7, 1-3 GNAC) | Norwich (1-12, 0-4 GNAC)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In a close first set that had 12 ties and five lead changes, the Falcons rallied from a four-point deficit to take a 1-0 lead in the match. With Albertus trailing 20-16, the Falcons scored five straight points that included kills from Yarelis Torres (East Haven, Conn.), Wallace and Fallon that gave Albertus the 21-20 lead. Back-to-back errors from Albertus gave Norwich the 22-21 lead, but Albertus scored the final four points and ended with an emphatic block from Fallon and Matheus as the Falcons took a 1-0 lead in the match. Pelaez had three kills in the set while Torres and Wallace each had two.
• The second set was all Albertus as it jetted out to a 17-4 lead as Fallon had three kills early on to go with two from Pelaez. The Cadets got to within 18-10, but the Falcons finished on a 7-2 run as Wallace had three kills in the final stretch. Fallon finished with four kills during the second set while Matheus had three blocks.
• In the final set, Norwich took a 5-2 lead before Albertus scored five straight that included two kills from Pelaez and one from Fallon. Albertus would maintain a slim lead in the set until a 12-10 advantage turned into a brief 13-12 deficit after three straight points from the Cadets. Albertus answered with three more of its own as Pelaez and Wallace each had a kill. Norwich got to within 22-20, but the Falcons scored the final three points, the last two by kills from Fallon.

LEADERS

Albertus

Majo Pelaez - 11 Kills

Shalese Gordon - 29 Assists

Da'Veona Parker (New Haven, Conn.) and Majo Pelaez - 1 Ace

Amanda Zdru - 47 Digs

Paula Matheus - 5 Blocks

Norwich

3 Tied - 4

Ava Nihill - 13 Assists

Katie Finn and Lillie Ellis - 2 Aces

Cameryn Jenkins - 30 Digs

Grace Davie - 3 Blocks

NOTEWORTHY

• Zdru's previous high in digs was 36 in a match against Fitchburg State last season.
• Gordon's 29 digs were the most this season since a five-set win over Purchase on Spetember 5th.
• The win over Norwich was the first for Albertus since 2018.
• Albertus already matched last season's total with four three-set wins.

UP NEXT

The Falcons host Dean in The Nest on Tuesday, October 1 at 7 p.m.