The Mount Ida College women's volleyball team swept their final Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match against visiting Norwich University and St. Joseph's College (ME). The Mustangs pull into fourth place in the GNAC standings after today guaranteeing them a spot in the post-season tournament. The hosts improve to 16-9, 8-4 in conference play while the Monks fall to ninth place in the GNAC standings 14-15 overall, and 6-6 in league play.
In the first contest of today's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match, the Mount Ida College women's volleyball team faced off against the Cadets of Norwich University. With scores of 25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 24-26, and 15-13, the Mustangs defeated the Cadets 3-2 for their first victory of the day.
At the start of game one both teams were very competitive with action knotted at seven a piece. Norwich junior Molly Rice did her best to keep the Cadets alive with five kills in the match. As the Mustangs rallied together with a collective effort they gained a 22-16 lead. Senior Amanda Pereira (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) and sophomore Rachelle Gilbert (Corunna, IN/Dekalb) notched three kills apiece to lead the Mustangs to a 25-20 game one victory.
In game two the competitiveness between both teams was still eminent with the game tied 8-8. As the match continued on there were seven ties and three lead changes. Freshman Devyn Frank (Mystic, CT/Fitch) showcased a strong individual effort, however the Cadets came on too strong as senior Lisset Magdaleno tallied four kills to hand the hosts a 23-25 loss, knotting the match at one game a piece.
The Mustangs came out determined at the start of game three as they jumped out to a 13-4 advantage. With consecutive errors by the visiting team, Mount Ida took complete control. Both senior captains Cherie Parisi (South Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) and Lauren Biondo (Coventry, RI/Coventry) had solid performances as they combined for six kills and put the game in the bag for the Mustangs. Winning 25-16 the hosts gained a 2-1 series lead.
Game four turned out to be just as spirited as the first two games as the score remained tight between both teams. Mount Ida freshman Christine Gallart (Germantown, MD/St. John's College) played tough as the Mustangs tied the game 10-10. The intensity picked up as the game continued on and the score remained tight but a slew of Mustang errors cost them the game as they dropped 24-26 and the Cadets tied the series 2-2.
The intensity from game four set the stage for a great game five. The Mustangs grabbed a 6-2 advantage early in the match but the Cadets would rally back to knot the game at six a piece. With both teams giving it all they've got the score remained close. Frank hammered down three consecutive kills to give Mount Ida an 11-9 advantage. The visitors could not handle the Mustangs as they tallied a couple of errors and two kills from Biondo and Pereira gave the home team the 15-13 victory.
Game one was stymied the for it's entirety with the Mustangs holding a small 10-7 advantage after a senior Lauren Biondo (Coventry, RI/Coventry) kill. After two kills by the Monks and a ball handling error by the Mustangs, the visitors knotted the score at 10-10. The score tied nine more times up until the end of game one at 22-22. Mustang freshman Devyn Frank (Mystic, CT/Fitch) and senior Amanda Pereira (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) closed out the set with two kills from Frank and one from Pereira notching the 1-0 match lead winning game one 25-22.
Game two was nothing short of brilliant for the Mustangs with a huge comeback towards the end to seal the win. It was back and forth in the beginning with Mount Ida holding a small 11-9 advantage capped by a freshman Christine Gallart (Germantown, MD/St. John's College H.S.) kill in front of the net. The visitors came right back to tie the score at 11-11 after a Monks kill. St. Joe's rallied pulling ahead 21-14 after a big serving performance by sophomore Jordan Pelczar (Meredith, NH/Inter-Lakes) and a couple of Mustang errors. The turn around for Mount Ida was next with junior Chelsea Darnell (Dublin, OH/Dublin Scoito) notching three straight kills followed by two Gallart kills and a service ace by Frank pulling within one point at 21-20. The Monks immediately called timeout to put some ice on the Mustangs but the break didn't cool off Mount Ida. The hosts went on to capture a 25-22 game two victory capped by a huge Gallart block. The Mustangs held the outright 2-0 match advantage going into game three.
Game three had a much different tempo with the Mustangs taking over quickly up 11-7 capped off by a Darnell kill. The Mount Ida offensive attack continued going on powerful run to jump ahead up 21-15 after a big Gallart kill. Mount Ida closed out game three winning 25-17 capped by a big kill from Biondo to take home their final GNAC match, 3-0.
Gallart was an absolute beast with 15 kills and two big solo blocks while Darnell added 10 kills as well. Setter's junior Kira Feeter (Keene, NH/Keene) and sophomore Cody Fusco (San Francisco, CA/San Francisco Waldorf) combined for 35 assists (18 Fusco, 17 Feeter) while Biondo notched three service aces.
The Mustangs will host non-conference Western Connecticut State University this coming Wednesday starting at 6:00 p.m. for their second to last contest of the season.