Molloy University Athletics

Box Score CALDWELL, N.J. (Oct. 2, 2014) - On Thursday night, the Molloy College and Caldwell University women's volleyball teams played a thrilling, tug-of-war style match, culminating in a narrow 3-2 victory for the Cougars. With the loss, the Lions are now 6-8 overall, while Caldwell bettered its ledger to 9-6.

Caldwell took the first two sets by scores of 25-20, before Molloy grabbed sets three and four (25-17, 26-24). The Cougars were able to hit that decisive 15-point mark in the fifth set to earn the victory.

In the first set, with the scored tied 20-20, Caldwell was able to put away Molloy with five straight points. In the second game, the Cougars recorded the final three points of the set to go ahead in the match, 2-0.

A 2-0 deficit, however, wasn't nearly enough to bog down the Lions. With the score 5-4 in favor of Molloy, the Lions reeled off an incredible 12-2 run to move ahead, 17-6. While the Cougars attempted the comeback, including a 4-0 burst at the end, Molloy found its 25th point -- coming via a bad set by Caldwell.

The fourth set's score stayed within a point in either direction all the way through to the mark of 17-15, in favor of Caldwell. The two clubs continued to trade points back and forth as the Cougars were trying to secure the win, while the Lions were trying to force a fifth set. Following a Molloy timeout, Caldwell grabbed another point to increase its lead to 24-21. Down by three, with the Cougars needing just one point to end the match, Molloy recorded five straight points to close out the set-win. A Caldwell service error and two attacking errors, coupled with a Danielle Williams (Alba, Texas) service ace and a Shannon Appel (Rockaway Park, N.Y.) kill forced set #5.

For the majority of the fifth set, the score remained within a point. A kill from D. Williams gave Molloy a 13-12 lead, before Caldwell scored three straight via a kill and a pair of service aces to win the set and match.

D. Williams posted 18 kills, while junior Cassie Palmer (Norwalk, Calif.) had 17. Sophomore Ally De Kruyf (Norwalk, Calif.) dished out 49 assists -- one shy of her career-high. Freshman libero Samira Escobar (Fountain Valley, Calif.) had 39 digs, which set a new career-high for her. Escobar also broke the program record for digs in a single match. The previous mark was 37, set by Monika Rodziewicz vs. Southern Connecticut State on 9/24/07.

Head Coach Billy Corrao and the Lions return to action on Saturday, Oct. 4 when they host Daemen College beginning at noon.