Women's Volleyball Splits Tri-Match at Albertus Magnus

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Elms College Women's Volleyball team traveled to Albertus Magnus College for a tri-match against the Falcons in a conference match and the State University of New York at Old Westbury on Saturday.

BASICS
Match 1
Score: Elms College 2 (23, 25, 25, 29. 23) | Albertus Magnus College 3 (25, 10, 12, 25, 15)
Records: Blazers 1-15, 1-5 (GNAC) | Falcons 7-8, 2-4 (GNAC)

Match 2
Score: Elms College 3 (25, 25, 27) | SUNY Old Westbury 0 (22, 17, 25)
Records: Blazers 2-15, 1-5 (GNAC) | Panthers 3-6, 1-2 (Skyline)  

HOW IT HAPPENED

Match 1

The opening set would see Elms score first after a kill by senior Francesca Dirienzo (West Springfield, Mass.). Albertus Magnus would quickly tie the set at 1-1, but the Blazers would regain the lead after kills by sophomore Quiana Gibbs (Porterville, Cali.) and junior Angelica Marks (Miami, Fla.). The Falcons would shortly take the lead from Elms before a kill from Dirienzo and Marks along with back-to-back service aces by junior Alejandra Marin (Dorado, P.R.) to give the Blazers an 12-8 lead. The two sides would trade points off of each other's errors, and AMC would then take the lead, but Elms would retake the lead after kills by Marin and Gibbs. That lead would not last long because Albertus would score seven points to take the lead and the first set 25-23.

The second set would see the two sides trade points early until the Blazers scored six straight points, with the assistance of kills by Marin and Marks, along with two service aces from sophomore Victoria Solis (Springfield, Mass.), to give Elms an 8-4 lead. The Falcons would earn a kill, but back-to-back kills from Marin and back-to-back service aces by Marks would keep the Blazers in the lead. Albertus Magnus would continue to fight back, trying to cut the Elms lead down, but the Blazers offense would shut that down after a kill and service ace from Gibbs, a service ace from first-year Maria Codianni (Waterbury, Conn.), and a kill and service ace by Solis to earn the second set 25-10, tying the match 1-1.

The third set would see Elms earn an early 9-2 lead, scoring the first six points of the set, after three kills by Solis, two kills from Dirienzo, and a service ace by junior Jaylen Holman (Las Cruces, N.M.). The two sides would trade the lead, capitalizing on each other's errors along with the occasional kill, but the Blazers would hold their lead with the assistance of a kill and service ace by Gibbs, a service ace from Holman, and two kills and a service ace by Solis to win the third set 25-12 to take a 2-1 lead in the conference match.

The fourth set would begin with the conference foes going back and forth with the lead, trading it after each serve. Elms would earn a 5-4 lead at the end of this early battle with the assistance of kills from Gibbs, Dirienzo, and sophomore Lillianna Simmons (Springfield, Mass.). The Falcons would then force two teams to continue the close battle trading points. the Blazers would have some help from kills by Dirienzo, Gibbs, Solis, and Simmons, along with a service ace from Marin, but Albertus were able obtain a large enough lead to win the set 25-19, tying the match 2-2, and to force a fifth and final set.

The fifth and final set of the opening match would see an early 9-3 lead by the Falcons, but three straight kills by Marin and Holman would cut that lead down to three points. AMC would add a point to their lead, but the Blazers would continue to capitalize on errors made by Albertus. With the assistance of a service ace by Marks and multiple errors by the Falcons, Elms would tie the set 12-12, but Albertus Magnus would take the final set 15-13 to win the conference match 3-2. 

Match 2

The start of the second match would start off with Old Westbury earning the first lead of the match 6-3, but Elms would score two kills from Dirienzo and Marin. The Blazers would then fight back and tie the set 7-7, after a service ace and kill by Marin along with multiple errors by the Panthers. Old Westbury would extend their lead 18-13, with Dirienzo scoring on a service ace, but after a timeout called by Elms, the momentum would change. The Blazers would score four-straight points to cut the lead down to a point, with the help of kills by Gibbs and Marks and a service ace by Marin. The Panthers would try to keep their lead, but Elms would score six points, with the assistance of two kills by Dirienzo, a service ace by Gibbs, and a kill by Marin, to win the opening set 25-22.

The second set would once again see an early Old Westbury 6-0 lead. Kills by Simmons, Solis, Marin, and Dirienzo would help cut the lead down to 9-7, but the Panthers would extend their lead to 13-7. But the Blazers would rally to gain the lead 17-15 with the assistance of kills by Holman, Gibbs, and Dirienzo along with a service ace by Marin. Old Westbury would tie the set set 17-17, but Elms with the help from a kill by Dirienzo and four service aces by Holman, the Blazers would take the second set 25-17, extending their lead 2-0 in the match.

The third and final set would see an early battle between the two teams, trading points, which saw kills by Gibbs and Dirienzo, but the Panthers would capitalize on errors by Elms to earn a 7-3 lead. Multiple kills by Marin and Solis would help cut down the Old Westbury lead until the Blazers offense began to put damage on the scoreboard. Elms would rally to force an extended, scoring points with the help of two service aces and a kill by Holman, two kills and a block from Solis and Dirienzo, and back-to-back by Simmons and Marin, to secure the set and sweep over the Panthers 27-25.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Dirienzo made 16 kills, five blocks, one dig, and a service ace.

• Holman created 50 assists, 21 digs, eight service aces, three kills, and two blocks.

• Marin had 27 digs, 12 kills, six service aces, and an assist.

• Gibbs created 19 digs, 14 kills, four assists, and three service aces.

• Solis made 12 kills, eight digs, four service aces, and two blocks.

• Codianni had 22 digs, five assists, and a service ace.

UP NEXT: The Elms Women's Volleyball team will host Mitchell College in a conference match on Wednesday, October 9th at 7 PM at Picknelly Arena.

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