NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball team won in dominating fashion in both of its tri-matches, defeating York College (NY) 3-0 before taking care of Saint Joseph's (Brooklyn), 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at The Nest.
The Falcons now have 11 wins on the season, the most since 2018.
Alyssa Valentine (Bristol, Conn.) had five aces in each match, which were a career-high. Paula Matheus (Tunja-Boyaca, Colombia) had eight kills in the first match and 11 in the second. Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) had 21 digs and 13 kills in the match against St. Joseph's (Brooklyn). Shalese Gordon (Bridgeport, Conn.) had 22 assists in the second match.
THE BASICS
MATCH 1: Albertus Magnus 3 | York 0
MATCH 2: Albertus Magnus 3 | Saint Joseph's (Brooklyn) 1
MATCH 1
SET 1: Albertus 25 | York 8
SET 2: Albertus 25 | York 10
SET 3: Albertus 25 | York 7
RECORDS: Albertus (10-10) | York (1-12)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Falcons jumped out to big leads for each of the three sets, including taking a 9-2 lead early in the first set as Matheus had a kill and an ace early on. The Cardinals never got closer than five points the rest of the way at 9-4 as Da'Veona Parker (New Haven, Conn.) had two aces to give Albertus a 12-4 lead. With the Falcons leading 15-7 after two straight points from York, the Falcons scored the next six as Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) had two aces, increasing the Albertus lead to 20-7. The Falcons scored the final five points of the set as Gordon had two aces, including one to close out the set.
- Albertus led 6-1 iearly in the second set behind two kills from Matheus. York crept back scoring five of the next seven point making it an 8-6 game, but four straight points that included two aces from Yarieshka Sierra (Hartford, Conn.) gave Albertus some breathing room as it took a 12-6 lead. York scored on an error before the Falcons once again went on a big run, scoring eight straight as Zdru added three more aces to her total to go with kills from Matheus and Emma Fallon (Harwinton, Conn.). Natalie Garcia (New Haven, Conn.) also added an ace as the Falcons took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
- The Falcons scored the first four points of the final set as Valentine had two aces to set the tone. Albertus was never threatened as it scored the final nine points of the set to book end the set. Valentine finished the set with five sets including one to close the match. Yarelis Torres (East Haven, Conn.) had three kills in the set.
LEADERS
Albertus
- Paula Matheus - 8 Kills
- Shalese Gordon - 11 Assists
- Amanda Zdru - 6 Digs
- Amanda Zdru and Alyssa Valentine - 5 Aces
- Paula Matheus - 1 Block
York (N.Y.)
- Alicia Gumbs - 3 Kills
- Samantha Panameno - 4 Assists
- 3 Tied - 4 Digs
- Simranjit Kaur - 1 Ace
- Jeana Clemons and Samantha Panameno - 1 Block
NOTEWORTHY
- Albertus has won the last six matches against York and has not lost a set in the last four matches to the Cardinals.
- Zdru's five aces were a career-high for both.
- It was the seventh sweep of the season for Albertus.
MATCH 2
SET 1: Albertus 25 | St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 20
SET 2: Albertus 25 | St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 13
SET 3: St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 25 | Albertus 22
SET 4: Albertus 25 | St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 8
RECORDS: Albertus (11-11) | St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) (11-7)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The close first set featured eight ties and six lead changes. Albertus led 8-5 early with seven of the points coming on kills by five different players, including two from Fallon and Matheus as well as an ace from Alexys Signor (North Haven, Conn.). With the set tied, 11-11, two kills from Taylor Knight put the Bears ahead 13-11. The Falcons finally regained the lead again after two kills from Sierra and an ace from Zdru put them up, 18-17. The Bears responded with the next three points to take a 20-18 lead, but a kill from Matheus and Fallon and ace from Gordon were part of a 5-0 run that gave Albertus the lead for good, giving them a 1-0 lead in the match. Albertus had 13 kills in the first set.
- Saint Joseph's scored the first four points of the second set - two of them on aces, but the lead didn't last long. Albertus scored 17 of the next 20 points - including 11 straight - to take a 17-7 lead. Signor had four aces during the run. The Bears didn't get closer than seven for the remainder of the set. Albertus scored the final four points of the set, the final two coming via kills by Pelaez.
- The Bears took a 6-1 lead and never trailed in the third set. They extended their lead to 18-9 until Albertus made it interesting with a 13-5 run to close the gap to 23-22. Matheus had two aces and two kills during the run while Pelaez had a kill and an ace during the stretch. The Bears would take the set as Martina Urgo closed out the third set with an ace.
- It was all Albertus in the fourth set, scoring the first 13 points as Valentine had five aces and Sierra, Fallon, Pelaez and Matheus had a kill. Albertus also snuck in a 5-0 run during the set to take a 22-5 lead. Albertus had a 10 kills and a .533 attack percentage in the set.
LEADERS
Albertus
- Majo Pelaez - 13 Kills
- Shalese Gordon - 22 Assists
- Majo Pelaez - 21 Digs
- Alexys Signor and Alyssa Valentine - 5 Aces
- Nathalie Wallace (Rocky Hill, Conn.) - 4 Blocks
Saint Joseph's (Brooklyn)
- Martina Urgo - 13 Kills
- Rachel Meltsin - 29 Assists
- Juliette DiVittorio - 23 Digs
- Rachel Meltsin - 6 Aces
- Jillian McGinty - 2 Blocks
NOTEWORTHY
- It was the first match between the two teams.
- It was the sixth time this season Pelaez had double digits in both kills and digs. She has acheived the feat in three of her last four matches.
UP NEXT
Albertus will play at Saint Elizabeth on Tuesday, October 22 at 7 p.m.
