Volleyball Falls to Local Foe Trinity Wednesday Night

HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) volleyball team dropped a non-conference match to intrastate foe Trinity College (Trinity), 3-0, Wednesday night inside Ray Oosting Gymnasium in nearby Hartford, Conn. The Bantams won the match by scores of 25-14, 25-10, and 25-13. With the result, the Blue Jays fall to 0-4 on the year, while the Bantams move to 1-0.

KEY MOMENTS 

• Trinity wasted little time, jumping out to a 7-0 lead.
• Sophomore outside hitter Shaye Harris (Prospect, Conn.) put a stop to the Bantams run with her first kill of the match, but the hosts kept their feet on the gas, extending the gap to 14-2, and forcing a USJ timeout.
• Senior outside hitter Rachel Heaney (Torrington, Conn.) notched a winner out of the break, sparking a quick 3-0 USJ run, but Trinity won seven of the next nine points, increasing the advantage to 21-7.
• Harris would serve three-consecutive points late in set one for the Blue Jays, but the comeback attempt fell short, as Trinity secured the opening set, 25-14.
• The Bantams started the second set much like the first, rushing out to a 17-4 lead.
• Freshman setter Alyssa Dugas (Newington, Conn.) would cap-off a three-point run that brought the score to 17-7 with her first career service ace, but Trinity continued to pull away, winning the second set, 25-10, and taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The third set featured a back-and-forth opening that saw Harris rack up three kills, as the Blue Jays and Bantams played out a 6-6 stalemate.
• The two sides continued to trade blows, until a 7-1 USJ run, highlighted by a pair of winners from sophomore middle blocker Vivian Pawloski (Wallingford, Conn.), established a 15-11 USJ lead.
• However, Trinity fought back, winning six of the next eight-points, leveling the score at 17-17 and forcing a USJ timeout.
• The Blue Jays and Bantams continued to trade points, but it would be the hosts the secured the final two points of the match, narrowly taking the final set, 25-23, to secure the victory, 3-0.

NOTES 

• Harris continued her strong season, tallying a team-high nine kills and a .304 hitting percentage.
• Freshman setter Gabi Wanner (Southington, Conn.) dished out 11 assists on the night.
• Senior libero Fernanda Ayala Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) racked up a team-best nine digs.
• The Bantams outhit the Blue Jays, 27.2% to 5.4%.
• Errors proved costly for USJ, as the team committed three service errors and five blocking errors.
• Trinity was lethal from the service line, tallying 16 service aces.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays take a week off, returning to the court on Wednesday, September 11 for a non-conference match at Westfield State University. First serve against the Owls inside the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass., is slated for 7:00 p.m.

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