CALDWELL, N.J. - A kill by senior outside hitter Laura Ciesla (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) was the winning point in the deciding fifth set as the Caldwell College volleyball team upended Bloomfield College, 3-2 in a match between the top two teams in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference's North Division Thursday evening in the George R. Newman Center. The victory puts Caldwell (13-8 overall) atop the CACC North with a 9-2 record, while the Deacons drop to 10-11 overall, 8-3 CACC.
Things didn't start well in the fifth set for the Cougars, who surrendered the first six points and trailed 7-1 before mounting a comeback. Caldwell registered six of the next seven points to get back in the set. The Cougars continued to ride the momentum, eventually taking a 13-10 lead. But Bloomfield notched four of the next five points to tie the set at 14-14. Freshman right side Amber Mosher (Flanders, NJ/Mount Olive) put down a kill to give Caldwell match point, then set up Ciesla's kill that gave the Cougars their first win over Bloomfield and a program-best five-match winning streak.
The match was close throughout, with Caldwell losing the first and third sets by identical 25-23 scores. The Cougars won the second set 25-22, then had 16 kills and a .500 hitting percentage to take a 25-17 victory in the fourth set. Mosher had four kills in the fourth set, while sophomores Keesha Francois (Elkins Park, PA/Cheltenham) and Cory Roesing (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus), pictured, and freshman Lauren Roth (Findlay, OH/Findlay) tallied three kills apiece. Roth finished with a career-high 49 assists to go with 17 digs, while Mosher registered 15 kills. Freshman middle blocker Titilola Alao (Ossining, NY/Ossining) also contributed with 13 kills and a .440 hitting percentage, with Francois adding 10 kills. Ciesla led the Cougar defense with 20 digs.
Bloomfield was led by Jussara Oliviera with 20 digs, and Brunna Coutinho and Urequenia Pereira, who each had 16 digs. Sonia Perez added 55 assists for the Deacons, who defeated the Cougars in three sets earlier this season.
Next up for Caldwell is a CACC match at home against Holy Family University on Saturday, Oct. 25. The first serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in the Newman Center.
CC - 23 25 23 25 16
BC - 25 22 25 17 14
