By Christopher McLaughlin
The CCSU volleyball team (3-10, 1-1 NEC) closed out their weekend of home play with a conference loss against Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (6-11, 1-1 NEC) three sets to one Sunday afternoon.
It was the Blue Devils’ second match in two days and second game in a row against a Northeast Conference rival. CCSU dropped the first set 25-23 but was able to bounce back in the second set to take the win 26-24. That would be the only set they would win however as they lost the next two 25-20 and 25-22.
“We didn’t look sharp at all today,” said head coach Linda Sagnelli. “Have to give credit to FDU, they out scrapped us and out hustled us and really took advantage of our sloppy ball control and our unforced errors.”
CCSU led late in the first game 22-18 but the point deficit disappeared following a FDU time out. The Knights went on a 7-1 point run to close out the game.
“Letting the first game get away from us the way it did really hurt us mentally and we couldn’t recover,” said Sagnelli. CCSU saw another late game lead vanish during game two but were able to settle down and grind out the victory.
After the second set, the unforced errors began to have a bigger impact as the Blue Devils dropped the next two sets to lose the match.
“We just weren’t as crisp as we were the day before, unforced errors seemed to creep in every set and became a team thing towards the end,” Sagnelli said. “We also struggled as a team with setting so our attackers weren’t able to get the good hits we needed. We have to take responsibility as a team for the errors we made, no one player was at fault.”
During the match, FDU was able to control the net with nine team blocks to CCSU’s three. Although FDU had less kills than CCSU, they did it more efficiently. FDU had a .204 kill percentage compared to CCSU’s .149.
Those were the only statistical advantages the Knights had over the Blue Devils, proving that it was the errors that truly hurt CCSU’s chances of a victory.
Team Captain Amanda Bayer compiled 45 assists, which was more than the entire FDU team. The Blue Devils also had more digs than FDU, but it still wasn’t enough to overcome a focused FDU.
Despite trailing big late in the last set, CCSU showed a lot of heart and persistence by winning important volleys that made the game close.
“It was exciting to watch the last couple volleys in the last set. Both teams made some amazing off-balance plays and it’s always nice to win those types of volleys,” Sagnelli said.
The Blue Devils were able to pull within two points before they overshot the court on their final serve. “It was unfortunate, but it was only one point so we can’t beat ourselves up over it. We should be proud we fought our way back into the game instead of focusing on how we lost.”
CCSU will look to bounce back on Oct. 2 when they go to Pennsylvania to take on Saint Francis. The team will be joined by Tori Vaughn, who is coming off an injury.
The Blue Devils will be back to play in front of their home audience homecoming weekend, on Saturday Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. against Saint Francis (NY).
