BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - Saints Women's Volleyball (2-2) earned their first two victories of the season on Saturday afternoon at Sarah Lawrence College. In the first match of the day, Emmanuel used a dominant first set and balanced attack to sweep (25-5, 25-13, 25-7) Lehman (0-2). In the second match of the day and final of their three-contest New York trip, the Saints posted another dominant first set en route to a sweep (25-6, 30-28, 25-17) of the hosts, Sarah Lawrence (3-3).
Emmanuel 3 - Lehman 0 (25-5, 25-13, 25-7)
A kill from reigning GNAC Rookie of the Year
Kason Huynh (Mission Viejo, Calif.) got the scoring started for the Saints to begin the afternoon. The point began an early 10-1 run from Emmanuel, opening up a significant lead early in the match. The Saints stayed in control throughout the remainder of the set, taking a 1-0 advantage with a 25-5 first set victory.
An 8-1 run capped off by back-to-back kills by
Jasmine Maradiaga (Randolph, Mass.) put the Saints in control as they looked to take a 2-0 match lead. The Lightning were unable to to get within less than six as a
Brielle Hardy (Billerica, Mass.) kill concluded the set 25-13, putting the Saints up two.
With the Saints holding a 4-3 edge early in the third set, a Lightning service error sparked a lengthy 9-0 run to open a 10-point lead for Emmanuel. After trading points back-and-forth, the Saints would erupt on another run, this time 10-0, to secure a 25-7 third set win and a sweep in the first match of the afternoon.
Maradiaga led the Saints with match-best 10 kills followed by
Maeve Gaffny (North Andover, Mass.) with five and
Hardy with four.
Huynh added a match-best 12 assists while first-year
Katie Dickerson (Schenectady, N.Y.) tallied eight.
Hardy and
Maya Barthel (Nottingham, N.H.) led the Saints defense, both posting six digs in the victory.
Arianna Calderon (Bronx, N.Y.) finished with nine digs and three kills to lead Lehman in the loss.
Emmanuel 3 - Sarah Lawrence 0 (25-6, 30-28, 25-17)
With the score knotted a 3-3, the Saints used an 8-0 run to take control in the first set. The visitors outscored the hosts 22-3 after the early tie to take a commanding 25-6 first set victory.
The second set was a much different story with the two sides battling back-and-forth throughout. With the Saints trailing 12-10, a service error from the Gryphons sparked a burst that saw Emmanuel take their largest lead of the set at 15-12. The hosts continued to keep pace and were able to deadlock the set at 22. Emmanuel went on to reach set-point, but Sarah Lawrence was able to rattle off three straight scores to take the lead. After fending off a set-point at 27-26, the Saints tallied four of the final five points to secure a 30-28 second set victory, finalized by a kill from first-year
Amber Hong (San Jose, Calif.). Junior standout
Isabella Marquez (Miami, Fla.) was dominant, tallying 13 kills in the frame to take a 2-0 edge.
After another Marquez kill knotted the third set at three, the Saints never trailed for the remainder of the match. An ace from Marquez later in the set opened a 13-6 lead for the visitors. The Gryphons were able to cut the lead to just three, but never came any closer as Emmanuel secured a 25-17 third set victory and 3-0 win.
Marquez led the way for the Saints with 22 kills and five aces.
Huynh fed the hitters with a career-high 38 assists while first-year
Payton Stupavsky (Quincy, Ill.) led Emmanuel with 14 digs.
Kaille Ferguson (Las Vegas, Nev.) posted 16 digs and
Valerie Hertig (Milwaukee, Wisc.) had 17 assists in the loss for Sarah Lawrence.
Up next, Lehman will return to the Bronx for a contest with Medgar Evers on Wednesday (9/11) at 6:00 P.M. Sarah Lawrence will take a 10-day break before hosting Yeshiva on Tuesday, September 17 at 7:00 P.M. The Saints return to the Jean Yawkey Center this Tuesday (9/10) at 7:00 P.M. when they host Massachusetts Maritime Academy in non-conference action.
