Box Score ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Sept. 24, 2015) - The Molloy College women's volleyball team was unable to overcome a strong front row attack from LIU Post, losing to the Pioneers on Thursday night in four sets. Game scores from Quealy Gymnasium were 21-25, 27-25, 14-25 and 18-25.
The Lions (2-11, 0-2 ECC) opened the night winning seven of the first nine points in the contest, utilizing a fiery start in the front row to capture a 7-2 lead. Molloy struck for five kills in that span, getting three from junior middle blocker
Grace Cookson (Alpine, Calif.) and one apiece from outside hitters
Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.) and
Cassie Palmer (Norwalk, Calif.). LIU Post (9-3, 2-0 ECC) battled back into the opening stanza by capitalizing on Molloy's errors. The Pioneers scored four straight points on the strength of three consecutive miscues from the home side and a kill by freshman outside hitter Rachel Londot (Utica, Ohio). Molloy would continue to lead all the way to a 17-15 advantage off of a Palmer kill, but the Pioneers ran off three unanswered points as the attack of Londot and sophomore Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.
) made the score 18-17 in favor of the visitors. A back-and-forth battle ensued leading to a Banks kill to give Molloy a 21-20 lead. That would be the last point for the Lions in the opening game, as senior middle hitter Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.
) connected on two successful attacks after a setting mistake and Valenza smacked a kill after a hitting error to award LIU Post the first set.
The swinging pendulum of momentum dipped on both sides in the second set, as Molloy's two-point opening run was answered by a two-point rally from the Pioneers. The Lions scored three unanswered to make it a 5-2 game, but LIU Post returned the favor by scoring three in a row. The second set would feature ties of 10-10, 15-15 and 19-19 before Molloy inched ahead to nearly record the set-winning point. But at 24-20, the Pioneers roared back into the contest as Londot and Valenza nailed down kills while Hansen and junior Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii) combined on a block of a Cookson attack. After a hitting error, it was a 24-24 score which pushed the set into a win-by-two sudden-victory scenario. Palmer and Valenza traded kills to level the match at 25, but Molloy took two straight on a Banks kill and an attacking error to breathe new life into the match and win the stanza by a 27-25 margin.
The third set opened with LIU Post on a 10-3 run as senior right-side hitter Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas) launched three kills while Londot had a kill and a service ace to go along with good blocking by Valenza and freshman middle blocker Taryn McCullouch (Buena Park, Calif.). The Lions attempted to rally back and got as close as 15-12, but a three-point run from the Pioneers which featured kills by Valenza and Amador and a service ace from Hansen effectively put the third set on ice for the green and gold. The Pioneers ended the set with a kill by McCullouch to finish off a 10-2 set-closing run to go up a set in the match.
Errors reared their ugly head at Molloy in the fourth and final set of this contest as LIU Post jumped out to a 5-0 edge on three consecutive unforced errors by the Lions and two kills off the right hand of Hansen. The maroon and white made an inspired effort to come back and knot the match at two sets apiece, as a kill from freshman
Jeanne Reinis (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) brought Molloy to within three points at 9-6. After Valenza traded kills with junior middle hitter
Spencer Williams (Los Angeles, Calif.), the Pioneers raised the score to 15-7 on the strength of kills by Hansen and Londot, two Molloy miscues and a service ace from senior libero Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii). Again, however, Molloy made a comeback effort to bring the set within four at 19-15 on a kill by Williams. The visitors would capitalize on two service errors and two attack errors to get to a 23-16 edge, and kills by Londot and freshman Navah Evans (Oakland, Calif.) sealed the story on a four-set victory for LIU Post.
Palmer, Banks and sophomore
Samira Escobar (Fountain Valley, Calif.) each had nine kills to lead the Lions in the loss. Escobar also collected 14 digs and hit at a .318 percentage to pace her team. Cookson added eight kills on a night where she hit .273 for her squad, as well. Junior setter
Alley Stefanovski (North Chili, N.Y.) had 19 assists and 11 digs while fellow junior
Ally De Kruyf (Norwalk, Calif.) had 16 assists and six digs. Leading LIU Post was Londot with 14 kills and 17 digs, and Hansen added 12 kills with a .400 hitting percentage out of the middle. Valenza and Amador each had ten kills as freshman setter Giulia Genna (Civitella San Paolo, Italy) dished out a match-high 47 assists.
The Molloy College volleyball team will play next Friday (Oct. 2) and Saturday (Oct. 3) as the Lions make their annual conference road trip to the Western New York area. The maroon and white first play Daemen in Amherst, N.Y. at 7 p.m. on Friday before a quick turnaround leads to a match in Rochester with Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday (Oct. 3) at 11 a.m. Be sure to check out www.MolloyLions.com for the most up-to-date information about your Molloy Lions volleyball team.
