Box Score ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Oct. 3, 2015) – After dropping a five-set nail-biter in the first leg of its Western New York trip, the Molloy College women's volleyball team got a more favorable result on Saturday in defeating Roberts Wesleyan in five sets. The Lions walked out of the Voller Athletic Center with their first victory in conference by scores of 28-26, 18-25, 25-18, 16-25 and 15-12.
Molloy (3-13, 1-2 ECC) won a marathon first set over the host Redhawks (1-11, 1-2 ECC) thanks to a combined 13 kills between the Lions hitters. Sophomore outside hitter
Samira Escobar (Fountain Valley, Calif.) provided a much-needed boost for the maroon and white with a successful attack to give the Lions a 27-26 lead, and Molloy ultimately won the first stanza on a bad set. The home side, though, rallied back behind the stalwart play of sophomore outside hitter Courtney Taylor (Spring, Texas). At one point through two sets, Taylor had 14 kills and zero errors with a hitting percentage north of .600.
Fast forwarding to the fifth set, the Lions took the first four points as Escobar notched a kill and a service ace, senior outside hitter
Cassie Palmer (Norwalk, Calif.) launched a kill and combined with
Spencer Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.) on a block to give Molloy a 4-0 lead. The Redhawks fought back to level the final game at 10, then again at 12-all. Freshmen
Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.) and
Jeanne Reinis (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) would notch consecutive kills though as Molloy powered its way to its first victory in seven matches.
Palmer led the team with 17 kills on a .227 hitting clip with 11 digs, and Reinis provided a nice spark with 11 kills of her own. Escobar launched four service aces in the total match with six kills and 11 digs to chip in for the Lions. Junior setter
Ally De Kruyf (Norwalk, Calif.) acquitted herself nicely with 25 assists, three service aces and five digs while fellow setter
Alley Stefanovski (North Chili, N.Y.) showcased excellent defense with a team-high 18 digs to go along with 21 assists.
Roberts Wesleyan leaned on Taylor's 27-kill performance, as she also notched 16 digs to lead the Redhawks in the loss. Sophomore setter Elisabeth Rivera (Garden Grove, Calif.) dished out a match-high 52 assists while providing 15 digs, as well. Senior outside hitter Kate Steger (Hilton, N.Y.) chipped in with 18 kills for the home team in the effort.
Molloy College will look to pick up another conference victory when the Lions take on ECC Preseason Player of the Year Jessica Kalbfleisch (Ridge, N.Y.) and Dowling College on Tuesday (Oct. 6). First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
