WATERBURY, Conn. (Sept. 15, 2016) - Despite taking a 25-23 first set away from Post University on Thursday evening (Sept. 15), the Molloy College volleyball team succumbed to a hard-hitting Eagles squad as the two-time defending CACC champions pulled away to knock off the Lions in a four-set contest. Scores from the Drubner Center in the second through fourth set favored the hosts by margins of 25-16, 25-7 and 25-15.
Molloy (1-9) was led by a nine-kill effort from reigning East Coast Conference Rookie of the Week
Shannon Wren (Lynbrook, N.Y.), as the middle blocker posted a .261 hitting percentage in 23 total attempts. Fellow first-year
Hailey Wehr (Wading River, N.Y.) chipped in with eight kills, while
Devon Hagerstrom (Bethpage, N.Y.) added seven and
Francesa Castellano (Belle Harbor, N.Y.) posted a six-kill performance for the maroon and white. Castellano also added nine digs as junior libero
Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.) led her side with 14 digs on the evening. Freshman setter
Sophia Smith (Georgetown, Texas) posted her fifth double-double of the season with 27 assists to go along with 12 digs in the loss to Post University (7-2).
The Eagles were buoyed by an emphatic .320 hitting clip throughout the match, including a staggering percentage of .424 in the final set of the match. Senior middle blocker Skylar German (Kansas City, Mo.) had herself a night with 17 kills and a whopping .536 attacking rate from the front row; German was second on the team in kills, however, as teammate Hailey Griffin (Plainfield, Conn.) notched a match-high 18 successful attacks for Post. Setter Brianna Root (Bristol, Conn.) dished out 51 assists while Sarah Ryder (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) had a match-best 24 digs as the Eagles' libero. Post U. collected 11 service aces in the match, with German posting a team-high five strikes from the service line.
The story of the match started off with a back-and-forth opening frame as the sides evenly shared the first 18 points of the set. Following a kill and ace from Morgan Griffin (Plainfield, Conn.), Post held an 11-9 advantage; this lead would grow to a 13-10 margin before Molloy scored four unanswered points on a service ace and kill by Hagerstrom and successful attacks from Wren and
Jeanne Reinis (La Mirada, Calif.). The Eagles and Lions traded the next six points, with a kill by Wehr nudging the maroon and white ahead by a 17-16 margin. The pendulum continued to swing between the two sides until Post took a 23-22 lead after a solo block by German stopped an attack by Reinis at the net. Out of a time-out, the Eagles committed a service error; what followed was a kill by Wren and a set-winning service ace from Hagerstrom to put the visitors ahead in the match for the moment.
The second stanza of play started with a point-sharing system similar to the first game. However, Post and Molloy would battle to a 5-5 tie before the hosts ran off a 10-point streak that silenced the maroon and white into submission early in the frame. Four kills, two service aces, two blocks and two errors by the Lions allowed Post to jump out to a 15-5 lead before Wren finally got a point for Molloy to end the run. The Lions would battle back valiantly, going on a 6-1 run following the kill to get as close as four points and trailing by a score of 16-12. Unfortunately, the Eagles went back to business following a stoppage; Post collected nine of the next thirteen points to win the second set and even up the match at one set apiece.
German opened the third set with back-to-back kills for Post University but Hagerstrom answered with a kill of her own. The Eagles, though, held the maroon and white to that lone kill for much of the game. In fact, an 11-0 run by the hosts put Molloy into a 13-1 hole that was just plain too much to overcome. The 2015 and 2016 NCAA Tournament participants relished a hitting performance of 12 kills in 25 attempts (.360 attacking percentage), meanwhile Molloy was flustered and flummoxed into a negative attack percentage in the third frame. The fourth set featured much of the same for the Eagles, as the hosts held leads of 9-4, 12-6 and 19-8 before ending the match on a kill from senior middle hitter Heaven Daluz (New Haven, Conn.).
The Molloy College volleyball team will look to get on the winning track this weekend, as the team visits the Garden State on Saturday (Sept. 17). The Lions will travel to Lakewood, N.J. for a tri-match with CACC representatives Bloomfield and Georgian Court at the GCU Wellness Center, with action set to begin at 1 p.m.
