CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College women's volleyball team outlasted the University of the Sciences in four sets, 25-20, 25-27, 25-17, 25-22 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference match Saturday afternoon at the George R. Newman Center. The victory is the third in a row for the Cougars and gives them a 14-11 record on the season, including a 12-3 mark in league play. The Devils drop to 8-12, 8-7 CACC.
In a close first set, the Cougars broke a 19-19 tie and scored the next five points en route to a 25-20 win. Freshman outside hitter Susan McDonough (Saline, MI/Saline) had four kills, and sophomore setter Lauren Roth (Findlay, OH/Findlay) recorded 10 assists. Caldwell appeared to have the second set under control with a 20-14 lead, but USP tallied nine of the next 12 points to tie the score at 23-23. After the teams exchanged points twice, a kill by Ari Leland and a Cougars attack error gave the Devils a 27-25 win.
Caldwell held the upper hand in the third set and cruised to a 25-17 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match. McDonough had four kills and sophomore outside hitter Elise Lennon (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) tallied three kills in the win. The fourth set was tight, with six lead changes. With the score tied 19-19, kills by McDonough and junior outside hitter Cory Roesing (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) helped Caldwell build a 24-20 advantage. The Devils held off match point twice, before Roesing put down the final ball for her ninth kill of the match and a 25-22 win. The Cougars hit .243 in the final set and .162 for the contest.
McDonough finished with 15 kills to go with seven digs to pace Caldwell. Roth had 39 assists, five kills and eight digs, while junior middle blocker Keesha Francois (Elkins Park, PA/Cheltenham), pictured, had 10 kills and a team-best .333 hitting percentage. Defensively, Roesing had 13 digs and freshman libero Maddy Amon (Shelbyville, KY/Bishop Moore) totaled a team-high 15 digs. Christine Puschak was one of three players to record more than 10 kills for USP, registering 14. Kirsten Lechner and Cady Rich notched 13 kills apiece for the Devils.
Caldwell continues CACC play with a match at Post University on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in Waterbury, Conn.
CC - 25 25 25 25
USP - 20 27 17 22
