Old Westbury, N.Y. (Sept. 20, 2017) – For the second day in a row, the Molloy volleyball team went the distance to earn a five-set victory, this time defeating the Bears of New York Institute of Technology, 3-2. The Lions move to 12-1 on the season and improve to 2-0 in East Coast Conference play.
Set by Set
Set One: NYIT 25, Molloy 23
Set Two: NYIT 25, Molloy 17
Set Three: Molloy 25, NYIT 20
Set Four: Molloy 25, NYIT 22
Set Five: Molloy 15, NYIT 12
After a disappointing second set, the Lions found themselves down 2-0. Molloy dug deep, despite falling behind early in the third set, and pulled ahead on a five-point streak, 17-13, following kills from sophomore
Devon Hagerstrom (Bethpage, N.Y.) and strong serving from sophomore
Jessica Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y.). The Bears came within two, 21-19, but Molloy controlled the final points to stay alive and send the contest to a fourth set.
The maroon and white jumped out to an early lead in the fourth, but the Bears came back to tie it, 6-6. A kill from Hagerstrom put the Lions ahead. NYIT kept the contest close, coming within one, 22-21, but Molloy would not relinquish the lead and forced a fifth and final set.
In the fifth, the score continued to flip-flop between the two teams, with neither able to gain a lead greater than two points until an attacking error from Karolina Moderova gave Molloy an 11-8 advantage. The Bears rallied for three points to tie the score, 12-12, but redshirt sophomore
Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.) and freshman
Kacey Affrunti (Levittown, N.Y.) rallied off three kills to seal the upset for the Lions, 15-12.
Banks led all scorers with 19 kills on the evening. Sophomore
Sophia Smith (Georgetown, Texas) added 17 digs to 46 assists on the evening for a double-double. Senior
Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.) controlled the back row, coming up with a game-high 37 of Molloy's 97 digs. Joining Banks in double-digits were Affrunti (18) and Hagerstrom (10), who hit at .333 and .450, respectively.
Molloy returns to the floor on Friday (Sept. 22) as they face Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y. at 7:00 p.m.
