Volleyball Earns First Victory, Downs Bay Path Thursday Night

EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. - The University of Saint Joseph volleyball team picked up its first win of the season after defeating the Bay Path University Wildcats, 3-1, on Thursday evening inside First Baptist Church. The victory improves USJ's record to 1-2, while the Wildcats fall to 2-1. The Blue Jays dropped the opening set 25-20, but then rebounded to take the ensuing three sets 25-18, 25-19 and 25-15.

TOP PERFORMERS
USJ:

·         The Blue Jays were led offensively by Carly Ruzbasan (Torrington, Conn.), Jasmine Buckley (Beacon, N.Y.), and Hannah Lemek (Bristol, Conn.).

·         Ruzbasan was the high-scorer in the match with 15 points, 14 of those coming on her match-high kills total. She also added 13 digs for a double-double.

·         Lemek had a match-high .444 hitting percentage as she picked up eight kills on 18 attempts without an error.

·         Setter Brenna Miller (McCleary, Wash.) had a double-double with 23 assists and a 10 digs.

·         Libero Janell Molina (Honolulu, Hawaii) was the defensive leader with a match-high 18 digs.

Bay Path:

·         Senior middle hitter Lauren Vallee (Bristol, Conn.) had a team-high 13 kills, while hitting .344.

·         Junior libero Joanne Nazario (Springfield, Mass.) was the Wildcats' leader defensively as she picked up a team-high 16 digs.

·         Senior outside hitter Ashlee Connors (Springfield, Mass.) was a double-digit scorer with seven kills and three service aces.

·         Junior setter Lexi Cears (Agawam, Mass.) handed out 22 assists.

MATCH RECAP

·         The Wildcats fell behind early in the first set, 6-2, but were able to rally back to eventually capture the lead.

·         With Cears on-serve, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run to turn a 9-6 deficit into a 13-9 lead.

·         They would not relinquish the lead using a five-point rally, including three service aces from Connors to help close out the first set.

·         Bay Path fell behind again in the second set, but were able to battle back to tie the game at eight-all.

·         They would never lead in the set as USJ went on to win 25-18.

·         In the third set, the Wildcats found themselves down 24-12 before staving off seven game points to bring the score to 24-19. However, they couldn't complete the comeback and fell behind 2-1.

·         The Blue Jays closed things out in the fifth set with a 25-15 victory.

The USJ volleyball team returns to action on Saturday for a tri-match with Emmanuel and Southern Maine. The match is hosted by Emmanuel with the Blue Jays first playing at noon. Bay Path also takes the court again on Saturday when it hosts MCLA and Castleton in a non-conference tri-match at First Baptist Church in East Longmeadow, Mass. starting at 10 a.m.