CALDWELL, N.J. - The Caldwell College volleyball team hit a school-record .488 in beating Nyack College in three sets, 25-9, 25-11, 25-10 in the quarterfinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament Tuesday night in the George R. Newman Center. The victory advances the Cougars (22-7) to Friday's semifinals against Philadelphia University at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, N.J. Nyack's season comes to an end after a 9-14 campaign.
Caldwell encountered little resistance in the first set, reeling off a 6-0 run at one point en route to a 25-9 win. Sophomore outside hitter Susan McDonough (Saline, MI/Saline) had five of the Cougars' 16 kills in the set while holding Nyack to just three kills. In the second set, Caldwell registered 13 kills with only one error in 19 attempts for a .632 percentage to win 25-11. Sophomore right side Amber Mosher (Flanders, NJ/Mount Olive) added five kills in the set. The final set was more of the same, as the Cougars blew open a 6-4 game with 13 consecutive points on the service of senior outside hitter Cory Roesing (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) to wrap up the match with a 25-10 win. Mosher, McDonough and junior middle blocker Titilola Alao (Ossining, NY/Ossining) each had four kills, as the Cougars hit .500 (16 kills, two errors in 28 attempts) in the third set.
As a team, Caldwell finished with 45 kills and six errors in 80 attempts for a .488 hitting percentage, breaking the old record of .483, set last season at Goldey-Beacom College. The victory also breaks the program mark for wins in a season, set last year when the Cougars finished 21-12.
Mosher, pictured, recorded 11 kills with no errors in 18 attempts (.611), while McDonough also had 11 kills with one miscue in 20 attempts (.500). Senior outside hitter Justine Pecora (Clifton, NJ/Mt. St. Dominic Acad.) added nine kills, with junior setter Lauren Roth (Findlay, OH/Findlay) distributing 36 assists. Defensively, sophomore libero Maddy Amon (Louisville, KY/Bishop Moore) had 16 digs and Roesing tallied 10 digs, as the Cougars held Nyack to a -.012 hitting percentage for the match.
Caldwell, seeded first in the North, will play Philadelphia, seeded second in the South, in the CACC semifinals for the third consecutive year. The Rams, who defeated Wilmington tonight in three sets, won both of the previous two semifinal meetings and have never lost to the Cougars in seven matches overall. Philadelphia won this year's regular-season match in five sets.
The match is set to start at 5:30 p.m. at Georgian Court in Lakewood, N.J.
CC - 25 25 25
NC - 9 11 10
CACC Volleyball Tournament
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Nov. 9
No. 1N Caldwell 3, No. 4N Nyack 0
No. 3N Bloomfield 3, No. 2N Dominican 2
No. 1S Holy Family 3, No. 4S Georgian Court 0
No. 2S Philadelphia 3, No. 3S Wilmington 0
Semifinals (at Georgian Court, Lakewood, NJ)
Friday, Nov. 12
No. 1N Caldwell vs. No. 2S Philadelphia, 5:30 p.m.
No. 1S Holy Family vs. No. 3N Bloomfield, 7:30 p.m.
Finals (at Georgian Court, Lakewood, NJ)
Saturday, Nov. 13
Semifinal winners at 1:00 p.m
