NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The Vassar College women's volleyball team concluded its five-match road trip with a matchup against local rival New Paltz on Wednesday night. And, in their final road match of the regular season, the Brewers (14-9) earned a 25-23, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22 victory over the Hawks (23-6) at the Hawk Center.
After New Paltz began the match by scoring seven of the first 10 points, the Brewers went on a 6-0 spurt to go up 9-7. The Hawks regained the lead, 15-13, but Vassar responded with three straight points and took a 16-15 advantage on a block by
Sara Ehnstrom (Kaneohe, HI) and
Jennifer Kerbs (Sacramento, CA). The teams continued trading runs, as there were 12 ties and seven lead changes in the first set. A
Devan Gallagher (San Francisco, CA) kill broke the 23-23 deadlock and gave Vassar a set point, then she slammed another kill to finish off the frame, 25-23.
In the second set, Vassar raced out to a 5-0 advantage and never looked back. The Brewers increased the cushion to seven points at 21-14, and a kill by Ehnstrom closed out a 25-19 set win that put Vassar ahead 2-0 in the match.
An Ehnstrom kill gave the Brewers an early 3-1 lead in the third set, but New Paltz responded with an 8-1 rally to take a 9-4 advantage. After the Hawks extended the margin to eight at 17-9, Vassar went on a 6-2 run to get back within four, 19-15. New Paltz claimed six of the next eight points, though, to take the set, 25-17, and extend the match.
There were three early ties in the fourth set before Vassar used a 9-3 run to open up a 12-6 cushion. However, after an Ehnstrom kill made it 16-8, New Paltz rattled off 11 of the next 14 points to pull even at 19-19. With the score knotted at 22-22, Gallagher ripped back-to-back kills to bring the Brewers to match point. Vassar won the set by a 25-22 count to finish off the 3-1 victory and snap its three-match losing streak.
Gallagher notched her eighth straight double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs. Ehnstrom added 11 kills on .370 hitting, while
Lauren Ninkovich (Portland, OR) had nine kills and seven digs.
Annie MacMillan (Colorado Springs, CO), meanwhile, handed out 41 assists to go along with eight digs.
Anna Zucchero (Newton, MA) tallied 24 digs and
Jane McLeod (New York, NY) contributed 12 digs for the Brewers, who hit .197 (46 kills, 15 errors, 157 attempts) as a team.
For the Hawks, Keri Neville led the way with 14 kills on .464 hitting. Taylor Cimillo had a double-double with 13 kills and 18 digs, while Julie Greenspan finished with 11 kills. Meredith Dignan recorded a double-double of her own with 50 assists and 15 digs. Nicole Fellone collected 22 digs and Olivia D'Antonio posted 10 digs, as New Paltz held an 83-74 advantage in that category. As a team, the Hawks hit .215 (55-21-158) in the match.
On Saturday, the Brewers conclude the regular season by welcoming New Rochelle (10-14) to Kenyon Hall for a 2 p.m. matchup. Vassar will honor its four seniors prior to the contest.
