Women's Volleyball Takes a Set in Season Opener

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Elms College Women's Volleyball team opened their season in a non-conference tri-match against Hunter College and Sarah Lawerence College Saturday afternoon.

BASICS
Match 1
Score: Elms College 0 (22, 15, 20) | Hunter College 3 (25, 25, 25)
Records: Blazers 0-1, 0-0 (GNAC) | Hawks 2-0, 0-0 (CUNYAC)

Match 2
Score: Elms College 1 (17, 25, 18, 19) | Sarah Lawerence College 3 (25, 23, 25, 25)
Records: Blazers 0-2, 0-0 (GNAC) | Gryphons 1-1, 0-0 (Skyline)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1
The Opening set would begin with the two sides trading the lead back and forth, including a kill and service ace by sophomore Quiana Gibbs (Porterville, Cali) and a kill by junior Alejandra Marin (Dorado, P.R.) (assisted by junior Jaylen Holman (Las Cruces, N.M.), who assisted Gibbs' kill. Hunter would then go on a scoring spree until back-to-back kills by Marin and Gibbs helped the Blazers narrow the Hawk lead. The Hawks would regain momentum and another service ace by Gibbs and kills by sophomore Victoria Solis (Springfield, Mass.) and senior Francesca Dirienzo (West Springfield, Mass.) helped Elms bring the match to within a point. After multiple errors by the Hawks, the Blazers were able to regain the lead with additional help of kills from Holman and Gibbs, but Hunter was able to re-secure the lead and win the first set, 25-22.

The second set would have a very different start. The Hawks would start with a 13-5 over Elms, but the Blazers would go on a short-lived scoring spree with the help of back-to-back service aces junior Angelica Marks (Miami, Fla.). Hunter would again regain the momentum and win the second set 25-15.

The third and final set would see a similar start to the opening set, where both teams would trade the lead. Early kills by Holman and Dirienzo and another service ace by Marks would help the Blazers gain a short-lived lead over the Hawks, but Hunter would win the third set 25-19 and secure the sweep.

Match 2
The opening set of the second match would begin with a 2-0 Elms lead with the help from a kill by Dirienzo and an error by Sarah Lawerence, but the Gryphons would then go on their first scoring spree. Sarah Lawerence would commit numerous errors, but the Blazers did not fully capitalize the mistakes made by their opposition. The Elms defense would continue to defend against the Gryphons until there was a late seven-point rally started by a kill from sophomore Lillianna Simmons (Springfield, Mass.) and followed by a service ace from Marin. Moments later, Simmons, Holman, and junior Alysha Izquierdo (Holyoke, Mass.) would each record kills and a service ace by Holman would give some additional life for Elms, but Sarah Lawerence would win the set 25-17.

The second set would be a different narrative for the Blazers. Elms would hold the lead from the very beginning until the Gryphons took their first lead at 18-17. During that Blazer lead, Elms recorded four kills and a service ace by Dirienzo. The two opponents would again trade the lead, but the Blazers would win their first set of the season 25-23.

The third set would begin with an early lead by the Gryphons with the help from a handful of multiple service aces and kills, but the Blazers would not back down keeping themselves within an arm's length distance to trade the lead with Sarah Lawerence. Multiple kills by Solis, Izquierdo, Dirienzo, and Gibbs would help Elms gain a lead, but the Gryphons would beat the Blazers 25-18 to gain the third set.

The fourth and final set would see another long Elms lead to kick off the set, with seven kills and a service ace by Izquierdo, until 17-16 when Sarah Lawerence capitalized on errors and recorded two kills and two service aces, taking the set 25-19 defeating the Blazers in four sets. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Holman led the team with 43 assists, 22 digs, three kills, and two service aces.

• Gibbs would record 15 digs, 10 kills, and two service aces.

• Dirienzo added 10 kills, four digs, and three service aces.

• Marjin had 24 digs, seven kills, and two service aces.

• Marks recorded six digs, four service aces, and a kill.

UP NEXT: The Elms Women's Volleyball team will travel to Nichols College in a non-conference match on Tuesday, September 3rd at 7PM.

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