Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Sept. 15, 2015) - Quealy Gymnasium played host to the Molloy College women's volleyball team for the first time in 2015, but the Lions' homecoming was ruined by Caldwell in a five-set classic on Tuesday. Set scores favored the Cougars 31-29, 25-12, 21-25, 26-24, and 15-10.
The first set dictated the kind of match that the scores of fans inside of Quealy Gymnasium were in for, as Molloy (2-8) jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the early going. The Cougars, meanwhile, gained three consecutive points on a Lions setting error and kills by Taryn Auyong (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Rachel DiLeonardo (Milton, Ga.). The home side took the next four points on two kills by freshman
Jeanne Reinis (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.), a kill by sophomore outside hitter
Samira Escobar (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and a successful attack from junior
Grace Cookson (Alpine, Calif.). The Lions would build up a 19-16 lead and looked poised to pounce on the opening set, but Caldwell (6-3) rallied back for five consecutive points on three Molloy attack errors, a DiLeonardo service ace and a kill by sophomore right-side hitter Katrina Janssen (Seville, Australia). Molloy rallied back to tie the score at 21 and when Caldwell built the lead up to 24-22, the Lions responded by leveling the score at 24. The two teams traded the next ten points to get to a 29-29 scoreline. Janssen smacked a kill to give the Cougars a 30-29 lead and set point, and an error off of an attack by Escobar awarded the visiting side with a 31-29 win and a one-set lead.
The first set heartbreak seemed to take the wind out of the sails of Molloy, as the Lions fell behind in the second set early. Escobar converted on a kill to get Molloy's first point at 3-1, but then Caldwell capitalized on poor front row play to jump out to an 11-1 edge. Four attacking errors, two Janssen kills, an Auyong converted attack and a DiLeonardo service ace saw the Cougars leading by ten before freshman
Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.) struck for a kill and combined with junior middle blocker
Spencer Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.) to cut the deficit to eight. Auyong ultimately controlled the tempo of the second set with four kills in the next ten points as the Cougars led 20-4 before an attack error gave the Lions the serve down by fifteen. Caldwell coasted the rest of the way, earning the two-set advantage with a 25-12 drubbing of Molloy.
The home side, however, was not ready to be swept under a rug that easily. The maroon and white held a 9-5 advantage in the third set and made it 10-6 on a kill by Banks before Caldwell scored five points in a row. Four attack errors and a kill by senior middle blocker Kelsey Blankerts (Sylvania, Ohio) put the Cougars in front by an 11-10 margin, and a later run of four points would put the visitors within striking distance of a sweep at 19-17. At 21-18, however, Molloy found some magic and scored the next seven straight points to take the third set. Three kills from Palmer, two kills from Reinis and two converted attacks from Cookson put Molloy on the scoreboard and sent the match to a fourth set. In that fourth stanza, the teams traded the first 14 points, until Banks struck for a kill after an Auyong mishit to make the score 9-7 in favor of the Lions. The maroon and white led 14-13 until the Cougars utilized a 3-0 spurt to take a 16-14 lead and another three-point rally to increase their lead to 19-17. The Lions staged a comeback as Cookson and Reinis struck for kills to make the score level at 22, but Caldwell collected consecutive kills from Janssen to take a 24-23 lead and set up a match point. With the Molloy faithful collectively holding their breath, Banks and Palmer notched back-to-back successful attacks to set up a game point at 25-24 for Molloy. On set point, Banks and Williams combined for a huge block which sent the home crowd into a tizzy and meant that the match would reach a fifth set, and a winner-take-all game to 15.
With a fresh slate and a two-set deficit gone, Molloy came out in the final act of this dramatic evening hungry to pick up the win. After a service error, Cookson put down a kill to level the fifth set at 1 but it would be Caldwell that would start to pull away. A Janssen kill and an Escobar hitting error gave the Cougars a 3-1 lead, and while insignificant at the time, it would prove to be a pivotal moment as Molloy would not gain the lead back. An Auyong kill gave the Cougars an 8-4 lead, earning the all-important switch point which carried over to a DiLeonardo kill as the visitors clawed their way to a five-point lead. The Lions mounted a late surge as consecutive errors later in the set would cut Caldwell's lead to three at 13-10. However, Janssen struck for back-to-back kills to put the nail in the coffin and slam the door shut on the maroon and white at Quealy.
The statistics of the match provide the perfect indicator of just how incredible the five-setter was: 126 total kills, 120 assists between the two squads and a combined 188 digs. In particular, Molloy sophomore libero
Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.) played the match of her life with a career-high 34 digs. On the offensive end, Banks and Reinis had 12 kills apiece, while Palmer added 11 kills and 18 digs. Cookson chipped in with 10 kills while Escobar added seven kills and 21 digs. Lastly, Williams had seven kills and a team-high four total blocks for the Lions.
Lost in the shuffle of the craziness was the milestone achieved by junior setter
Alley Stefanovski (North Chili, N.Y.). The junior led all setters with 32 assists, which now gives her a total of 1,004 for her career. Stefanovski becomes just the fifth player in Molloy Lions volleyball history to reach the 1,000-assist plateau, while fellow junior setter
Ally De Kruyf (Norwalk, Calif.)---who holds the program record for most assists in a single season---added 22 assists. Stellar back-row play from freshman
Meaghan Carr (Mineola, N.Y.) cannot be discounted either, as she kept several plays alive and showed great tenacity and intensity in all five sets played.
Caldwell was paced by a three-pronged hitting attack as DiLeonardo (14), Auyong (18) and Janssen (19) combined for 51 kills for the Cougars in the victory. DiLeonardo and sophomore libero Jessica Mitchell (Plainfield, N.J.) led the team with 20 digs, while sophomore setter Gabrielle Bennett (San Antonio, Texas) added 15 digs and Auyong contributed with 12 digs. Bennett also pushed out 24 assists while freshman setter Jordan Hoffman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) dished out a team-best 29 assists in the win.
The Molloy College volleyball team and Head Coach
Billy Corrao will next travel to Garden City, N.Y. on Saturday (Sept. 19) to face Northeast-10 opponents Le Moyne and Adelphi. The Lions will face Le Moyne at 1 p.m. before taking on the host Panthers of Adelphi at 3 p.m.
