Box Score The women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 21-25) decision against Colby-Sawyer in a non-conference contest at the Wildcat Center on Tuesday evening.
The first set was a back and forth battle with the score tied 10 times, including 19-19. Johnson & Wales then reeled off the next three points, capped by a kill from junior Kellen Tensen (New Canaan, Conn.) for the 22-19 lead. Colby-Sawyer rallied, however and closed out the match with a 6-1 run, including a kill by senior Stephanie Vecchio (Shelter Island, N.Y.) to take the 25-23 win and the 1-0 advantage in the match.
After a 5-5 tie early in the second set, JWU went on an 11-7 run and took their largest lead of the set on a kill by senior Alyssa Drapeau (Biddeford, Maine) to take the 16-12 lead. Again, Colby-Sawyer responded and tied the set at 16-16 after a Wildcats miscue. The score was tied after a kill by JWU freshman Alexis Sinclair (Hebron, N.H.) made it 20-20. The visiting Chargers then closed out the set with a 5-3 run, capped by a kill from sophomore Gabrielle Rodriguez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) to give the team the 25-23 win and make the match score 2-0.
In the third set, Colby-Sawyer took the early lead before JWU responded to tie the game at 10-10 on a kill by junior Marissa Bunnewith (Millbury, Mass.). That would be the last tie of the game as Colby-Sawyer pulled away down the stretch for the 25-21 win and the 3-0 match victory.
Johnson & Wales junior Paula Cadavid (Pawtucket, R.I.) narrowly missed a double-double with nine kills and 15 digs while Tensen recorded 27 set assists in the loss for the Wildcats. Senior Kaitlin Kuntz (Boone, Iowa) had a match high 19 digs for JWU.
Vecchio paced Colby-Sawyer with 14 kills and four digs while Rodriguez had 10 kills, nine digs and three blocks in the victory. Junior Laura Smolinski (Hebron, Conn.) had 33 set assists and eight digs while senior Jackie Keating (Marshfield, Mass.) added eight kills and a team best 15 digs in the win for the Chargers.
With the loss the Wildcats fall to 8-12 on the year while Colby-Sawyer improves to 15-5 for the season. JWU will return to action on Saturday, October 11th when they travel to Norwich for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match with Norwich and Mount Ida, starting at 12:00 p.m.
