Women’s Volleyball wins first home match of 2014

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball played its first home match of the 2014 season Friday evening, coming home with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-19) win over Colby-Sawyer College in the Ocean State Invitational.

In the first set, Josalyn Benson (Phoenix, Ariz.) opened the match with a service set for a quick 1-0 lead. Roger Williams went up 5-2 early before a kill by Stephanie Vecchio (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and back-to-back RWU attack errors tied the game at five. A Charger service error helped spark a 10-2 Hawk run, giving RWU a 15-7 lead and forcing a Colby-Sawyer timeout. The eight-point deficit proved to be too much to overcome for the Chargers. Elizabeth Flaherty (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) and Brittany McMullen (Lancaster, Pa.) notched back-to-back kills for the Hawks to close out the first set 25-14.

Flaherty led off the second set with a kill, giving the Hawks the first point of the game. Her play would help RWU open the set on a 9-3 run, capped off by a block by McMullen and Kristen Boyer (Ephrata, Pa.). After a Charger timeout, Roger Williams maintained the advantage, leading by as many as 11 (17-6). With RWU leading 20-9, Colby-Sawyer mounted a short comeback. The Chargers took advantage of a blocking error four consecutive hitting errors, two of which were forced by blocks by Vecchio, Brenna Walczak (Lee, N.H.), and Gabrielle Rodriguez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.). After a Hawk timeout, the Hawks closed out the set, scoring five of the final eight points, bookended with another Flaherty kill.

The third set saw a back-and-forth battle. A Hawk service error gave the Chargers their first lead of the match. From there, both teams would alternate the advantage for the next 15 minutes, evidenced by seven ties and five lead changes before a Hawk timeout at 11-11. With the score knotted at 13, Sarah McAniff played a crucial role in helping RWU pull away. Her kill gave the Hawks a 14-13 advantage, then proceeded to roll off three consecutive service aces to build RWU's lead to four. The cushion would be enough to hold the Chargers off, as a Colby-Sawyer hitting error gave the Hawks the match.

McMullen and Flaherty each tallied ten kills, with Flaherty adding 14 digs. McAniff had four kills to go along with five aces, and 13 digs. Benson handed out 35 assists, while Maria Batas (Merrick, N.Y.) finished with 21 digs.

Rodriguez and Jackie Keating (Marshfield, Mass.) led Colby-Sawyer with six kills each. Keating also finished with 11 digs and two aces. Laura Smolinski (Hebron, Conn.) went for 17 assists and nine digs, while Lexi Strong (Somersworth, N.H.) led CSC with 12 digs.

Roger Williams (4-4) hosts Wheaton and Southern Vermont tomorrow, while Colby-Sawyer (5-3) takes on Salve Regina and Wheaton.

Print Friendly Version