Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Oct. 13, 2015) - Molloy College junior setter
Ally De Kruyf (Norwalk, Calif.) became the sixth member of the 1,000-assist club in volleyball program history Tuesday evening, but it was not enough to lift the Lions over Queens (N.Y.) in an ECC tilt. The Knights won in four sets by scores of 25-21, 25-16, 18-25 and 25-19.
Molloy (4-15, 2-5 ECC) started the first set off with three of the first four points thanks to an attack error by Queens (5-11, 2-5 ECC) and two kills off the right hand of freshman outside hitter
Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.). The lead would balloon to a 9-3 edge after a kill by senior outside hitter
Cassie Palmer (Norwalk, Calif.) was followed by another Queens attack error and consecutive service aces from junior middle hitter
Spencer Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.). Palmer struck for another kill later in the set to give the Lions a 15-7 lead, but then the visitors began to rally with seven of the next eight points including consecutive kills from freshman outside hitter Nicolleta DiCocco (Blue Point, N.Y.) at 16-14. Banks pushed Molloy's advantage back to three with a kill, but the Knights burst through to take six unanswered points off of two attack errors, kills by Tori Bowser (Pelham, N.Y.) and Arielle DiCocco (Blue Point, N.Y.), a service ace from Xhesi Domi (Selden, N.Y.) and a block by the sisters DiCocco of a Palmer attack. The visiting side went on to seal the first set victory with kills from seniors Else Buchmiller (Sacramento, Calif.) and Bianca Steele (Massapequa, N.Y.).
The second set mirrored the first stanza in that Molloy jumped out to a 3-0 lead, thanks to a Williams kill, a block by Banks and Williams and an attack error on the Knights. Queens took 10 of the next 14 points and led by three, 10-7, before a kill by freshman outside hitter
Jeanne Reinis (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) cut the lead to two. Following the successful attack, the maroon and white found themselves on the wrong end of a 9-0 run as the elder DiCocco converted three service aces, Steele took charge with two kills and two total blocks, while Buchmiller and Bowser collected points on kills as well. The Lions fought back as Palmer and junior middle hitter
Grace Cookson (San Diego, Calif.) totaled three straight kills to put their side within six at 22-16, but it would not be enough as the Knights took the next three points and opened a two-sets-to-none advantage in the match.
In Game 3, the Lions took off and held a 7-4 advantage following a service ace from De Kruyf, yet the Knights would come back again to level the score at 7. Queens ended up taking an 11-8 lead as Bowser and freshman Malaika Hollis (Farmingville, N.Y.) struck for kills around a service ace from DiCocco. The visitors forced their way out of the lead with four consecutive attack errors, but an attack error from the home side would bring the Knights within one at 17-16. It would be the maroon and white to launch a rally of their own with six straight points on the strength of two kills by Palmer, a Reinis kill, a combined block from Reinis and Cookson and several unforced errors by the visiting side. Ultimately, the Lions would take the third set by a 25-18 margin to force the match to a fourth stanza.
In the fourth set, the pattern of the past held true as Molloy took an early lead. In fact, thanks to consecutive service aces from junior setter
Alley Stefanovski (North Chili, N.Y.), the Lions held a 5-3 lead. The lead would not last as Queens jumped out to a 9-7 advantage on a kill by Steele; but back came Molloy with four straight points on kills by Palmer and Reinis, a combined blocking effort of Palmer and Cookson, and a bad set by the Knights. Later in the set, sophomore outside hitter
Samira Escobar (Fountain Valley, Calif.) punched a kill off the hands of a Queens defender on an assist by De Kruyf to make the score favor Molloy, 15-14. That kill-assist combination proved to be the 1,000th career assist for De Kruyf, as the the California junior joined Stefanovski in reaching the 1,000-assist plateau this year alone. But the point also marked a change in momentum as Domi launched two service aces and Bowser struck for a kill to give Queens an 18-15 lead in the fourth set. Though the Lions fought back to within four at 23-19 on a De Kruyf kill, the Knights took the next two points on consecutive kills by Hollis to win the match.
Palmer led the Lions with 12 kills, while Reinis added eight and Banks converted seven attack attempts for kills in the losing effort. De Kruyf (18) and Stefanovski (15) led the way in assists for the Lions while Escobar had five kills and 18 digs. Sophomore libero
Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.) led the team with a match-high 21 digs of her own. For the Knights, Bowser had a match-best 14 kills and DiCocco added 11 on a .417 hitting percentage. Hollis poured in nine kills with 12 digs and Domi led her squad with 15 digs out of the back row. Sophomore setters Kristen Moore (Medford, N.Y.) and Jessica Yin (Dongguan, China) combined for 34 assists with Moore dishing out a team-high 18.
The Molloy College volleyball team will host NYIT on Thursday (Oct. 15) with first serve from Quealy Gymnasium set for 6 p.m.
