Blue Devils Will Take On Number One Sacred Heart Nov. 20 In Tournament
By Christopher McLaughlin
The volleyball (10-17, 7-8 NEC) seniors ended their time in Detrick Gymnasium on a high note, defeating longtime NEC rival Long Island University in five sets.
With the victory CCSU improves its record and remains in fourth place in the NEC. The Blue Devils dropped the first set 25-20 but bounced back to win the next on 25-20. LIU would win the third set 25-21, but they couldn’t close out the match as CCSU won the fourth 25-23.
For the sixth straight match, CCSU would play into the fifth set. While CCSU trailed late into the set, the Blue Devils were able to rally and win the set 15-13, defeating LIU for the first time since November 2003.
“This team has overcome so much this season, we knew we could win if we just executed,” said Head Coach Linda Sagnelli.
The win over LIU couldn’t have come at a better time for CCSU. Not only did it help them clinch fourth place in the NEC, but it was also senior day.
“We have a large senior class this year, and all of them have huge roles on this team,” said Sagnelli. “Amanda Bayer holds the assist record and has been a steady player all four years. Maite [Mendizabal] is a great team player who refuses to be outworked on the court. Kaitlin Petrella has been our anchor defensively all four years, and Tori Vaughn has improved each year and has contributed greatly to our success.”
Before the start of the match, CCSU’s four seniors were honored in the middle of the court in front of friends and family.
“It’s great to know all the support, it really means a lot to us,” said senior libero Kaitlin Petrella.
The four seniors have played all four years together, and have a special bond out on the court.
“We’ve grown so much together,” said Petrella “We’re really close, we know each other so well it makes it easy to play together.”
While the day was special for CCSU, it didn’t start out the way they would have wanted, as the Blue Devils dropped the first set. LIU came out of the gate strong, and posted more kills, assists, digs and blocks than CCSU.
“We weren’t aggressive enough,” said Sagnelli. “LIU has a strong front court and their blockers kept us out of sync.”
After losing the first set, CCSU came out much stronger, and tied the match during the second. Emily Cochran led the way with six kills for CCSU while Bayer had nine assists.
In her first game back from injury, Tori Vaughn had two kills on three attempts to help CCSU win the set. The Blue Devils also picked up four serving aces during the set to help keep them in front.
“The play of our outside hitters really picked up, and Tori Vaughn did great in her first game back from injury,” said Sagnelli.
The third set however, took after the first set as LIU once again outperformed the Blue Devils. LIU raked up 17 kills and 16 assists as they once again took a one set lead over CCSU.
“We needed to focus on blocking,” said Sagnelli. “We were leaving a lot of holes and still didn’t look in sync.”
Down two sets to one, CCSU dug deep and picked up the victory in the close set. CCSU had the same amount of kills as LIU but did so at a higher percentage. Cochran led everybody with eight kills, and Bayer had as many assists as all of LIU with 15.
CCSU picked up four blocks, and made fewer errors which helped them come out on top in the closely contested set.
“Our transitions were better and our serving was very good,” said Sagnelli. “We were able to key in on a certain player and we executed very well.”
With the match now tied, CCSU would have their shot to beat LIU for the first time in seven years. However LIU jumped on a quick lead. CCSU trailed before rallying late to tie the score at 12.
A huge dig by Blaike King kept CCSU’s hopes alive as her team rallied for the victory after the play.
“Blaike’s dig in the fifth set really set us up to win, it was a key play that gave us a lot of momentum,” said Sagnelli.
With the victory over Quinnipiac on Nov. 14, CCSU secured fourth place in the conference and will move on to the NEC Tournament.
The tournament begins on Nov. 20 when CCSU squares off against number one Sacred Heart.