New York, NY – The Montclair State University volleyball team (6-2) entered the second and final day of the NYU Season-Opening Invitational on Saturday. They were blanked by St. Thomas (1-1), 3-0, but regrouped and outdueled Emerson (5-1), 3-2, to cap off the weekend.
VS. ST. THOMAS (TX)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Red Hawks garnered an early advantage to kick off the match. Four different Red Hawks each had kills up to a 6-3 Montclair advantage. St. Thomas never let Montclair pull away with a lead and kept the battle close. At a tied score of 11-11, the Celts swung a 7-1 run that put them out in front, 18-12. Following a kill from AVA FIEDLER and a service ace from Kasey Trazaska, St. Thomas sealed the set-one triumph, scoring five of the next six for a final score of 25-16.
- LILY THOMAS and SOFIA DIPROFIO paced the Red Hawks early, teaming up for a block and each hammering down a kill for a 3-1 lead. The score volleyed back and forth, with three lead changes and eight tied scores, to a 14-14 stalemate. The Celts took advantage of Red Hawk errors to score five of the next six points and take a 19-15 edge. BRYN BAUTISTA, BREANNA CRAIG, and HAYDEN NEUHAUS each collected kills to help tie the match up again at 19 all, but attack errors put Montclair behind and eventually allowed them to escape set two with a 25-22 win.
- The Celts controlled the early stages of the third set. Up 4-3, they scored seven unanswered points to command an 11-3 advantage. The Red Hawks' best run of the third came with a 16-8 deficit, when kills from LUCY CORNELIUS and Fiedler, as well as two service aces from ALEENA WHITEHEAD, slashed the lead to 17-11. The two teams traded blows until a 19-13 Celts lead. St. Thomas surged for six of the next seven points to earn the sweep with a 25-14 win in set three.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Fiedler once again led the team in kills and was just shy of back-to-back showings with nine.
- Whitehead played a pivotal role on the backline, earning 18 digs. She now has double-digit dig performances in five of Montclair's seven contests.
- Cornelius finished her day with 25 assists. She now has 20+ assists in each of the past four contests.
VS. EMERSON
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Emerson controlled the early advantage, jumping out 8-2. A series of kills and service aces helped them cut the lead to 10-8. The Lions scored the next two, but the Red Hawks scored six of the next seven to flip the set in their favor, 14-13. SOFIA DIPROFIO had two kills, and LILY THOMAS had a kill and a block in that stretch. Montclair continued to soar in front, scoring eight of the next 10 and got out in front, 22-16. Emerson put together a fantastic comeback with a 7-1 run to tie the match, 23-23. Montclair avoided disaster as DiProfio and BREANNA CRAIG both put down kills to take set one, 25-23.
- Set two was an early battle. Five lead changes and six tied scores led to an 11-11 stalemate. The Lions took over and surged forward with a 10-1 run to command a 21-12 advantage. Following an attack error, Emerson scored four of the next six to take set two, 25-14.
- Both teams went back-and-forth to start the third set. Seeing a 5-3 lead, the Red Hawks responded with a 5-1 run sparked by two kills and a block by Craig. Following both teams exchanging a pair of points, a kill by Thomas ignited a 10-2 run to help Montclair take control, 19-10. While Emerson put together a strong rally, Montclair got the points they needed. DiProfio sealed the set with a kill, and Montclair went ahead 2-1 in the match with a 25-20 win in set three.
- While the beginning of the fourth set remained relatively close, Emerson exploded down the stretch. The closest the set got was a 9-6 Lions lead. Emerson, down the stretch, went on a phenomenal run of 16-1 to command a 25-7 win in set four and force a decisive fifth set.
- It looked as if Emerson was going to use the fourth-set momentum to run away with the match, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. The two teams exchanged a pair of points before Montclair performed a strong rally. Fiedler put down a kill, and Craig followed with three to help flip the match at 9-7 Montclair. Following a bad set, BRYN BAUTISTA collected a kill and set up a 6-2 run. Bautista had four kills down the stretch, and Montclair came away victorious with a 15-10 set-five triumph.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Cornelius was sensational on both offense and defense. She finished with a season-high 39 assists and led defensively with a career-high 20 digs.
- Bautista saw a double-double in the match with 12 kills and 10 digs.
- Fiedler led the team in kills again with 14, while Craig had 10 on .389 hitting.
- The Red Hawks handed Emerson its first loss of the season.
FROM THE COURT
- "This was a great weekend of volleyball against some very talented and well coached teams. I was proud in the way we bounced back today. We had two matches that we ran into inconsistencies and couldn't really overcome the deficit. We played a more calm match against Emerson and made adjustments that ultimately gave us a solid win. Our returning core did a great job maintaining focus and it's great to see our young players contribute against good competition." Head Coach Eduardo Stawinski
UP NEXT
- Montclair will return to New York on Thursday, September 17, this time traveling to take on John Jay. That match is set for a 7:00 p.m. first serve.
