Volleyball Holds Off Saint Francis U in Five Sets

The Central Connecticut volleyball team rallied to defeat Saint Francis, 3-2 (19-25, 25-15, 19-25, 25-20, 15-13), on Saturday in Loretto, PA. Senior Raquel Quirarte and junior Madelyn Kaprelyan each had double-doubles as CCSU won the final two sets to to win the match. Central improved to 10-10 overall and 7-2 in the Northeast Conference, while SFU slipped to 4-18 overall and 3-6 in the NEC.

The Blue Devils travel to Bryant on Saturday, Oct. 27.

Quirarte had 15 kills and 15 digs for CCSU, while Kaprelyan finished with 11 kills and 24 assists. Sophomore Emma Henderson had a team-high 20 kills, while junior Morgan Woycik added 11 kills. Junior Erin McDermott had 26 assists and nine digs.

Senior Kaitlyn Kushman had 20 digs, while sophomore Ashlyn Eisenga added 10 digs. Junior Gala Galabova had eight total blocks for the Blue Devils.

The Blue Devils dropped the first game, but would bounce back in the second game by racing out to a 10-5 lead after scoring four straight points. Central would push the lead to 19-10 following an ace by Kaprelyan before SFU rolled off three straight points. A kill by Quirarte would end the run and spark a 3-0 stretch for CCSU. After back-to-back poins by SFU, back-to-back kills by Galabova and Kaprelyan would set up set point for the Blue Devils. Central tied the match at one set each after a Red Flash error.

Saint Francis U would jump out to an 11-3 lead in the third game en route to taking the game 25-19 and going ahead in the match.

The fourth game would be tied 17-17 before a kill by Woycik sparked a streak of five straight CCSU points. Central would close the game with consecutive kills by Woycik and Hnderson to send the match to a fifth game.

The Red Flash scored the first five points in the decisive set before CCSU called a timeout. Trailing, 6-1, Central would get a kill by Woycik to begin a run of six straight points to take a 7-6 lead. The set was tied 10-10 until a kill by Quirarte sparked three straight CCSU points. SFU would score back-to-back points to get within, 13-12, before Woycik closed out the match with a pair of kills.