lNEWBURGH, N.Y. — Sophomore
Sophia Siruchek (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) dealt a career-high 14 kills in the 3-1 win over The City College of New York on Saturday at the Mount Saint Mary's Tri-Match in the Elaine & William Kaplan Recreation Center. However, the hosts nabbed a 3-0 win over the Wolves for the split. The Wolves collected their first win of the campaign and moved to 1-6, while the CCNY Beavers dropped to 2-5 and the MSM Knights improved to 5-0 overall. WestConn hosts its home opener on Tuesday in a non-conference match against St. Joseph's (LI) at 7 p.m. in the William A. O'Neill Center.
WestConn 3, CCNY 1 (25-20, 25-14, 27-25, 25-19)
The Wolves set the pace early in set one with 10 unanswered points for the 11-2 lead, including a trio of aces by
Julia Stoliker (Red Hook, N.Y.) and a kill by Siruchek. After trailing by 12, the Beavers attempted a rally, but WestConn's lead was too great as
Kayla Proscia (Holbrook, N.Y.) and
Hallie Robillard (Middletown, Conn.) delivered the final two points.
WestConn went on a 13-4 run in the second set as
Arianna LaPointe (Boynton Beach, Fla.) was at the helm for six and Stoliker served four straight points. The Beavers got within seven points as the Wolves held a 21-14 edge, but WestConn sealed the deal for the remaining four points off a kill by Sirucheck, two attacking errors by CCNY and an ace by
Ali Rondeau (Carmel, N.Y.).
The Beavers came back in the third set for a narrow 26-24 win. With the score knotted at 17 apiece, the teams traded points until CCNY went on a 5-1 run for the 24-22 lead. Kills by Robillard and Sirucheck, along with a bad set, gave the Wolves the one-point lead, but the Beavers rallied for three points to force a fourth frame.
WestConn and CCNY held a close match in the final set, but the Wolves held the advantage with 16 total kills, as Proscia (5), Siruchek (4) and Stoliker (4) aided in the onslaught.
MSM 3, WestConn 0 (27-25, 26-24, 25-25)
Despite taking a 3-0 lead to kick off the first set, the Wolves fought back with 7-0 run. The Knights and Wolves battled point-for-point for a 24-24 tie, followed by a kill by
Taylor Thompson (West Point, N.Y.) to give the visitors a 25-24 advantage. However, MSM nabbed the win with three straight points. WestConn maintained similar momentum in the second set before the home team took a five-point lead with a score of 18-13. WestConn clawed back for the 19-19 tie in a 6-1 scoring stretch. Again, the Wolves knotted it at 24 with a kill by Robillard, but MSM put up the final two points. The Knights dominated in the final set.
