Central Claims Blue Devil Classic Title With Sweep of NJIT
Blue Devils start the season 3-0
The Central Connecticut volleyball team powered to a 3-0 sweep over NJIT and claimed the 2015 Blue Devil Classic title finishing the weekend with a 3-0 record. Central topped Fairfield on Friday, then defeated Bucknell and NJIT on Saturday. Senior Makenna Lommori was named the tournament MVP, while junior Rachel Fish and freshman Raquel Quirarte also earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
A balanced attack led the Blue Devils to the victory on Saturday night, with juniors Nicole Dean and Erika Jones and Quirarte all recording seven kills. Central hit just .155 as a team, but played excellent defense while holding NJIT to a -.007 hitting percentage, with 32 errors and just 31 kills on the night.
The defensive attack posted three solo blocks and an impressive 24 block solos during the three-set match, including seven assists from Dean and four each from junior Brooke Schwab and Quirarte. Quirarte added three solo blocks for the Blue Devils, who dropped only one set in the three match weekend.
Central also added 62 digs in the match, including double figures from four players. Fish led the team with 19, followed by Lommori and sophomore Lindsey Massicotte with 11 and freshman Kaitlyn Kushman with 10.
Central will travel to the University of Illinois Chicago next week for the UIC Invitational, playing matches against Chicago State, Morgan State and UIC.
Blue Devil Classic All-Tournament Team
Makenna Lommori, CCSU (MVP)
Rachel Fish, CCSU
Raquel Quirarte, CCSU
Meghan Wentzel, Bucknell
Karen Campbell, Bucknell
Skyler Day, Fairfield
Adriana Nieto, NJIT