Volleyball Splits Pair of Matches to Open Season Friday

Nyjha Marcelin earned All-Tournament honors this weekend.

August 26, 2022

The Central Connecticut volleyball team opened the 2022 season at the Iona Gaels Volleyball Tournament on Friday in New Rochelle, NY. The Blue Devils dropped the first match of the day, falling to Providence, 3-1, before bouncing back with a 3-0 sweep of Holy Cross.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Providence 3, CCSU 1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-17)
Records: CCSU (0-1), PC (1-0)
Location: Iona Gaels Volleyball Tournament (Hynes Athletics Center | New Rochelle, NY)

KEY MOMENTS

The Blue Devils won the opening set, scoring six straight points to close out the stanza. Isabelle Roufs had a pair of blocks and Lauren Milani served a pair of aces in the run to seal the opening frame win.
The Friars evened the match with a win in set #2. PC rallied late with four straight points to extend the set and then got back-to-back points to win the frame.
PC would close out the match with wins in the third and fourth sets. In the third set, PC used a five-point run in the middle of the set to build a lead it would maintain throughout. The Friars raced out to a 9-0 lead in the fourth set enroute to closing out the match.

NUMBER TO KNOW

10.0 - CCSU finished with 10.0 blocks as a team. Central recorded 14 matches with at least 10.0 blocks in 2021-22.

NOTES

Isabella Bratzke had a team-high 13 kills, along with 15 digs for her first double-double.
Nyjha Marcelin had 10 kills and four blocks.
Stela Velinova had a team-high six blocks.
Tori Boulay had 19 assists, while Natalie Novak had 16 assists and 12 digs.
Rachel Picha had 32 digs for Central.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 3, Holy Cross 0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-12)
Records: CCSU (1-1), Holy Cross (0-1)
Location: Iona Gaels Volleyball Tournament (Hynes Athletics Center | New Rochelle, NY)

KEY MOMENTS

CCSU scored the first five points of the opening set and never trailed. Isabella Bratzke opened the scoring with a kill and then had three service aces in the run.
The Blue Devils trailed in the early going of the second set before taking the lead for good with a six-point run midway through the frame. CCSU would close the frame with a 6-1 run to take a commanding lead in the match.
Central never trailed in the final frame and would push its lead to 10 points after leading just 12-8. Isabelle Roufs and Madison Massaro-Cook teamed up for a block to close the match.

NUMBER TO KNOW

-0.012 - The Blue Devils' defense held the Holy Cross attack to just 15 kills, while forcing 16 errors.

NOTES

Weronika Poczynek was the only Blue Devil in double-digits with 12 kills.
Tori Boulay had 17 assists and helped direct a CCSU attack that hit .253 in the match.
Isabella Bratzke had a team-high 20 digs for Central.

UP NEXT
Central closes play on its opening weekend against Iona at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Links to live stats and video to follow the matches are available HERE.