Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller on Friday Against St. Francis Brooklyn
Central Connecticut opened Northeast Conference volleyball play with a 3-2 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday night in New Britain, CT. Central came back for the victory in the final set and had double-doubles by four players in the hard fought win.
Central Connecticut opened Northeast Conference volleyball play with a 3-2 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Friday night in New Britain, CT. Central came back for the victory in the final set and had double-doubles by four players in the hard fought win.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 3, St. Francis 2 (25-16, 22-25, 25-15, 23-25, 21-19)
Records: CCSU (7-5, 1-0 NEC), SFBK (6-11, 0-1 NEC)
Location: Detrick Gymnasium | New Britain, CT
KEY MOMENTS
- CCSU built a 10-2 lead in the opening set, forcing a SFBK timeout after an ace by Natalie Novak. The Terriers would get within, 15-11, but CCSU would not allow the visitors any closer and a kill by Isabelle Roufs closed out the set.
- St. Francis had a lead as large as 17-11 in the second set, but Central would claw back to get within 20-18 after a kill by Lauren Milani, forcing a Terriers timeout. Out of the breat, St. Francis ended the CCSU run and would go on to even the match.
- A kill by Nyjha Marcelin tied the third set 11-11 and the Blue Devils would score five straight points served by Rachel Picha to take the lead for good. The Terriers were unable to score on back-to-back rallies from that point as the Blue Devils went up 2-1 in the match.
- Central trailed throughout much of the fourth set before drawing even at 21-21 after a kill by Mia Lombardo. The Terriers would go ahead with three straight points to set up set point. A kill by Milani would earn Tori Boulay the serve. Following a kill by Marcelin, the Blue Devils appeared to have tied the set before a replay was called. The Terriers would win the point and send the match to a deciding set.
- In the fifth set, St. Francis took a 10-6 lead following a run of four points. The Terriers nearly won the set and match at 15-13, but a review gave Central extra life to extend the evening. The teams would be tied at 19-all before consecutive blocks by the Blue Devils defense would end the match.
QUOTABLE
"The word I used to describe the reason we won is 'grit'", said head coach Linda Sagnelli. "Sometimes grit is hard to describe, but tonight's match was it. They didn't sit back, they didn't doubt themselves. The match could have gone so many different ways. It could have been over in the fourth with us winning it. It could have been over in the fifth with them winning it, but all of the sudden we were still in it. Opportunities were given and we were in the game long enough to win the game."
NUMBER TO KNOW
5 - CCSU played its first five-set match of the season and just its third longer than three sets.
NOTES
- The match featured 22 tied scores and eight lead changes.
- Weronika Poczynek had career highs with 21 kills and 14 digs. She hit .350 in the match.
- Milani set personal-bests with 15 kills and 13 digs.
- Tori Boulay (28 assists, 13 digs) and Natalie Novak (30 assists, 10 digs) added double-doubles.
- Stela Velinova and Mia Lombardo each had four blocks to lead Central.
- Picha had five service aces and 28 digs.
UP NEXT
CCSU welcomes LIU on Saturday at 4 pm. Links to live stats and video to follow the matches are available HERE.