CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College volleyball team set a school record with 15 team blocks in a four-set Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over Post University, 22-25, 25-11, 25-19, 25-15, Tuesday night in the George R. Newman Center. The Cougars improve to 16-9 overall and 12-3 in conference play, clinching at least a share of the CACC North Division title. The Eagles drop to 9-22, 7-8 CACC with the loss.
Caldwell got off to a sluggish start in the first set, trailing for most of the set before taking a 22-21 lead. But the Eagles, led by outside hitter Kerry Smith, reeled off four straight points to close out the set with a 25-22 win. The Cougars started slowly in the second set as well before finishing strong with 15 of the final 20 points for a 25-11 victory. Sophomore middle blocker Keesha Francois (Elkins Park, PA/Cheltenham) had four kills in the set to help the Cougars tie the match at 1-1. Caldwell won a close battle in the third set, holding off the Eagles for a 25-19 win. Four more kills by Francois helped the Cougars hit .333 in the fourth and final set en route to a 25-15 victory.
Freshman right side Amber Mosher (Flanders, NJ/Mount Olive) notched a team-best 10 kills, while Francois finished with nine kills against just one error for a .500 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Lauren Roth (Findlay, OH/Findlay) sparked the offensive attack with 32 assists. But the Cougars gained the upper hand in the match as a result of their defense. Francois and Mosher each had six block assists, while Francois added two solo blocks for a total of eight blocks on the night. Freshman middle blocker Titilola Alao (Ossining, NY/Ossining) registered three solo blocks and four block assists to help Caldwell set a new school record with 15 total team blocks. Sophomore libero Kathleen Estes (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) and senior outside hitter Laura Ciesla (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech) pitched in with 18 and 15 digs, respectively. For Post, Smith led all players with 12kills to go with 14 digs.
The Cougars can clinch the CACC North Division with a victory at Nyack College on Thursday, Nov. 6. The match is set to start at 7:00 p.m. in Nyack, N.Y.
CC - 22 25 25 25
PU - 25 11 19 15
