Box Score OAKDALE, N.Y. (Oct. 6, 2015) - The Molloy College volleyball team ventured eastward to Suffolk County Tuesday night but fell to East Coast Conference foe Dowling College in three sets. Set scores favored the Golden Lions at Dowling Gymnasium by margins of 25-13, 25-21 and 25-20.
Dowling (13-4, 4-1 ECC) opened the first game with a service error but quickly regained the lead as sophomore middle blocker Mikalah Hughes (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) converted a successful attack, which was followed up by a Molloy (3-14, 1-4 ECC) setting error and a service ace from freshman libero Taylor Takeda (Mililani, Hawaii). Freshman outside hitter
Jeanne Reinis (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) cut the deficit to one with a kill but Molloy would lose the next four points on unforced errors to fall behind by a 7-2 score. Dowling opened up a 14-7 edge in the opening stanza before the visiting side collected kills from junior middle hitter
Spencer Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.) and senior outside hitter
Cassie Palmer (Norwalk, Calif.) to couple with an attack error from senior outside Jessica Kalbfleisch (Ridge, N.Y.) as the scoreboard read 14-10 in favor of Dowling. The home side would score 11 of the next 14 points, however, and take the first set by a 25-13 margin. Kalbfleisch and junior right-side attacker Kataryzna Klocek (Krakow, Poland) would accumulate two kills each in the 11-3 run to provide the Golden Lions with the win.
The two teams would trade the first 12 points in the second set before Molloy nudged in front on a Hughes attack error and a block by Williams to give the Lions an 8-6 edge. Williams would later combine with Palmer on a block to put the maroon and white up by three, 11-8, but Dowling responded with a Kalbfleisch kill and a service ace from senior setter Kayla Dillman (Rochester, N.Y.) around an attack error by the visitors. Later in the game, a kill from the right hand of sophomore outside hitter
Samira Escobar (Fountain Valley, Calif.) knotted the score at 16 with Molloy serving to possibly level the match at one set apiece. Kalbfleisch, the East Coast Conference Preseason Player of the Year, had other ideas as she launched four kills in the next 14 points scored as the Golden Lions completed a comeback to win the second set, 25-21.
The senior out of Ridge opened the third set with another three kills and two solo blocks against Reinis as Dowling cruised out to a 7-1 lead. The home side led 14-6 before Molloy mounted a mini-comeback, spurred by kills from junior setter
Alley Stefanovski (North Chili, N.Y.) and Escobar to cut the lead to six. In a later sequence, Stefanovski notched a service ace and after a ball handling error on Dowling, the Lions found themselves down by two, 17-15. Senior middle blocker Dragana Jelovac (Tivat, Montenegro) would convert on an attack attempt and open up a 4-0 run to take back a six-point advantage. The maroon and white got back within four as freshman outside hitter
Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.) connected for a kill to earn the Lions their 20th point of the third set. On the very next point, however, Hughes silenced the visitors with a kill of her own to put the finishing touches on a three-set sweep.
Reinis had a team-high seven kills for Molloy in the losing effort, while Palmer and Williams totaled six kills each. Escobar had five kills and a side-best 13 digs, while sophomore libero
Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.) added nine digs of her own. Junior setter
Ally De Kruyf (Norwalk, Calif.) collected 16 assists with seven digs and a service ace. Meanwhile, Dowling hit .276 as a team with Kalbfleisch achieving 16 kills and a .318 individual hitting percentage. Hughes achieved a total of seven kills and Jelovac chipped in with six successful attacks on the night. Dillman dished out a game-high 34 assists while Takeda had 17 digs to lead all players on defense in the victory.
The Molloy College volleyball team will return home to Quealy Gymnasium on Thursday (Oct. 8) to host Mercy College at 7:30 p.m. Check out www.MolloyLions.com for all the latest stats and information about your Molloy College volleyball team, including links to live stats and a video/audio broadcast for Thursday's contest.
