RADNOR, Pa. (September 8) – Despite double-figure kills from four players, the Cabrini College volleyball team fell 3-1 (30-25, 27-30, 30-28, 30-27) to DeSales University this afternoon. The Cavaliers stand even at 2-2 while the Bulldogs improve to 3-3.
Junior
Lindsay Martin led all players with 19 kills and added 35 digs, her second double-double of the season, while sophomore
Traci Beltz finished with 13 kills. Junior
Lizzie Williams added a season-high 50 assists.
Cabrini jumped to a 10-2 lead in the first match off four consecutive Cavalier kills but DeSales fought back to tie the score at 16 following two straight attack errors from Cabrini and a service ace. After the game was knotted again at 19, DeSales rattled off seven unanswered points before claiming the five-point win.
In the second set, the Cavaliers scored six straight points before DeSales was able to get on the scoreboard from a kill. The Bulldogs evened the score at 11 but Cabrini would not relinquish its lead, taking a 27-20 advantage with consecutive kills from junior
Danielle Finnegan and Beltz. The Bulldogs twice closed the gap to just two before the Cavaliers won off a DeSales attack error.
The score stayed close in the third game as neither team was able to build more than a three-point lead until Cabrini went ahead 16-12 off a Bulldog mistake. After seven tie scores, DeSales used a kill from Jen Melton to take a one-point edge (29-28) and the Cavaliers fell off an attack error in the final play.
The Cavaliers built a ten-point lead (15-5) in the fourth game but DeSales stayed in the contest, slowly chipping into Cabrini’s advantage, and tied the game at 26 with a block assist from Lauren Pacenta and Alyssa Poplaski. A Beltz kill evened the score at 27 before DeSales used a Cavalier ball handling error and two kills to claim the win.
Cabrini faces Neumann College on September 12 at 7 p.m. to open PAC play.
