UB 3, CC 1
CC 3, HFU 2
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Caldwell College volleyball team split a pair of games at the University of Bridgeport Tournament Friday afternoon at Hubbell Gym. The Cougars lost to the host Purple Knights 3-1 before edging Holy Family University 3-2 in a non-conference match to open the season 1-1.
In the day's first match against Bridgeport, Caldwell dropped the first two sets, 25-13 and 25-11, before coming back to win the third set, 25-21. Junior outside hitter Justine Pecora (Clifton, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Acad.) had five kills in the win, while freshman outside hitter Susan McDonough (Saline, MI/Saline) had four kills. But the Cougars could not maintain momentum into the fourth set, as the Purple Knights captured the match with a 25-14 victory.
McDonough finished with a team-best 11 kills to go with 11 digs for a double-double in her first collegiate match. Sophomore setter Lauren Roth (Findlay, OH/Findlay) had 29 assists and 14 digs, while freshman libero Maddy Amon (Shelbyville, KY/Bishop Moore) recorded 11 digs. Ivana Kovacevic-Jurasin led all players with 14 kills to pace Bridgeport (2-1).
Against Holy Family, the Cougars lost the first set, 25-18, before winning the second set by the same score to tie the match. In the third game, Caldwell held off one set point before falling 26-24, leaving the Tigers one set from victory. But the Cougars came back in the fourth set, led by four kills from sophomore middle blocker Titilola Alao (Ossining, NY/Ossining), to win 25-22 and force a fifth set. Holy Family came back from a 7-2 deficit to hold match point, 15-14. But a service error and an attack error set up match point for the Cougars. Alao put away her match-high 16th kill to give Caldwell its first win of the season.
Alao, pictured, finished with 16 kills, while McDonough had 11 kills and 14 digs. Roth tallied 44 assists, and junior libero Kathleen Estes (Lyndhurst, NJ/Lyndhurst) registered 18 digs and four service aces. Aly Kiehl had 15 kills and 11 digs to lead Holy Family (2-3).
The Cougars wrap up play at the Bridgeport Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 5 against UMass-Lowell at 11:00 a.m. and Merrimack College at 3:00 p.m.
CC - 13 11 25 14
UB - 25 25 21 25
CC – 18 25 24 25 17
HF – 25 18 26 22 15
