MORRISTOWN, N.J. - The Albertus Magnus College women's volleyball team lost a hard-fought 3-1 match to Saint Elizabeth in a non-conference match on Tuesday evening on the road.
Alyssa Valentine (Bristol, Conn.) had a career-high 28 assists and 16 digs for Albertus. Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) had a team-high 11 kills and Yarieshka Sierra (Hartford, Conn.) had seven kills. Amanda Zdru (Stratford, Conn.) had a team-high 29 digs.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Saint Elizabeth 3 | Albertus Magnus 1
SET 1: Saint Elizabeth 25 | Albertus 17
SET 2: Saint Elizabeth 25 | Albertus 15
SET 3: Albertus 26 | Saint Elizabeth 24
SET 4: Saint Elizabeth 25 | Albertus 23
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (11-11) | Saint Elizabeth (8-12)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons scored the first two points of the first set, the first on a kill from Yarelis Torres (East Haven, Conn.). Saint Elizabeth responded by scoring the next six points to take a 6-2 lead. The Eagles never gave the lead back, but the Falcons were able to tie the set back up at 15-15 after a 6-1 run as Valentine had an ace and two kills from Matheus. However, the Eagles scored the next eight points as Sienna Volpe had two kills to take a 23-15. Pelaez had four kills in the set.
The second set started out similarly to the first, except this time Albertus scored the first three points including a kill from Emma Fallon (Harwinton, Conn.) and Paula Matheus (Tunja-Boyaca, Colombia). After the Eagles briefly tied the set at 5-5 before another Fallon kill made it a 6-5 set. The Eagles would then core the next six points as Ericka Menaling Trajano had two aces. Albertus got to within four points two more times, but the Eagles pulled away, finishing the set with nine kills and five aces in the set. Matheus and Fallon each had two kills in the set.
The third set saw 14 ties and eight lead changes as no team held a lead bigger than four points. With Albertus trailing 12-8, the Falcons scored four straight including kills from Nathalie Wallace (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and Pelaez. Over the final 27 points of the set there were 10 ties. The Eagles had match point as they held a 24-23 lead, but three consecutive errors - two from Onye Bosco - helped propel Albertus to the set win. Yarieshka Sierra (Hartford, Conn.) and Pelaez each had three kills. Valentine assisted on all nine kills for the Falcons.
The final set saw the Eagles score the first five points until the Falcons went on a blistering 10-3 run to take a 10-8 lead behind three kills from Sierra and two from Matheus. Two aces from Alyssa Wells of Saint Elizabeth helped give the Eagles a brief 12 -11 lead. Pelaez and Sierra each had a kill to help give Albertus the 16-13 lead back, but once again the Eagles took a 21-18 lead on another ace from Menaling Trajano. Albertus then scored the next four behind a kill from Pelaez and Matheus to regain the lead at 22-21. After one more lead change the Falcons tied it one more time at 23-23, but two consecutive errors gave the Eagles the match.
LEADERS
Albertus
Majo Pelaez - 11 Kills
Alyssa Valentine - 28 Assists
Amanda Zdru - 29 Digs
Alyssa Valentine and Yarieshka Sierra - 1 Ace
Paula Matheus - 5 Blocks
Saint Elizabeth
Dadlyna Louis - 12 Kills
Kristina Ashton - 26 Assists
Alyssa Wells - 15 Digs
Ericka Menaling Trajano and Marissa Heimbaugh - 4 Aces
3 Tied - 4 Blocks
NOTEWORTHY
Four players had double-digit digs for the Falcons.
The 89 digs for the Falcons were the second most this season by the team.
UP NEXT
Albertus will host a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match on Friday, October 25 against Anna Maria at 3 p.m. and Emmanuel at 7 p.m.
