Blazers Blank USJ in GNAC Appearance

West Hartford, CT - Elms jumped out hot Wednesday night and defeated the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) Blue Jays 3-0 in their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener, inside the O'Connell Center. 

THE BASICS:

Score: Elms 3 | USJ 0
Set Scores: 14-25, 14-25, 9-25
Records: Elms (5-3-0, 2-1-0 GNAC) | USJ 2-3-0 (0-1-0 GNAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The first set began with back-and-forth action seeing the Blazers and the Blue Jays tied at 5-5. A service run by Alanys Cruz Diaz saw the Blazer jump to a 10-5 lead. Despite a late push by the Blue Jays, a service run by Kianna Lozado had the Blazers up 23-13. A Blue Jay error closed out the set for Elms, who won 25-14. 

The Blazers jumped out to an early lead in the second set from a 11-0 service run from Laura Jensen. The Blue Jays fought for a late set service run, but a kill from Jensen stopped it for Elms to go up 20-12. Jensen was back on the service line for Elms to go up 24-13 before a USJ kill pushed for an additional point. A service error for the Blue Jays ended the set 25-14 and Elms went up 2-0 in the match. 

The third set opened with another service run for the Blazers, this time by Govanna Rosado for the Blazers to go up 5-0. A late 7-0 run by the Blazers put them up 24-6. USJ battled for additional points, but the deficit was too much and a kill by Rosado closed out the set 25-9. Elms won the match 3-0 and extended their winning streak to 4. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

·       Cruz Diaz led the Blazers with 13 kills on just 22 attempts, hitting .591. 

·       Jensen led the team in digs (13) and added 7 kills of her own, hitting .412. 

·       Rosado had a match-high 5 service aces along with 29 assists. 

UP NEXT:

- The Blazers are back on the road next week, for a non-conference matchup against Framingham State University Rams on Tuesday, 9/21 for a 6PM start.

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