Volleyball Drops Non-Conference Finale at Home to Bay Path Wednesday Night

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) volleyball team rounded out the non-conference portion of its 2024 slate by falling at home to Bay Path University (Bay Path), 3-1, Wednesday night inside the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium in West Hartford, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays move to 2-16 overall while the Wildcats move to 12-5 overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Wildcats grabbed an early advantage, taking a 15-9 lead.
• The Blue Jays would fight back, pulling within one, 16-15, after a 5-1 run that was fueled by a pair of service aces from senior libero Fernanda Ayala Rodriguez (San Juan, Puerto Rico).
• Ayala Rodriguez would notch a kill to keep the Blue Jays within one late, 18-17, but Bay Path closed the set on a 5-2 stretch, winning the opening stanza, 25-20.
• The visitors established another quick lead in set two, jumping out to an 11-5 edge.
• USJ again would not go down easy, using an 8-1 scoring stretch, featuring kills from senior outside hitter Rachel Heaney (Torrington, Conn.), sophomore outside hitter Shaye Harris (Prospect, Conn.) and two service aces by freshman defensive specialist Alyssa Dugas (Newington, Conn.) to hold a 13-12 advantage.
• However, the WIldcats would regain the lead, and were able to hold off the Blue Jays to narrowly win the second set, 25-23.
• The third set featured a back-and-forth start, that saw the two teams play out a 14-14 deadlock.
• USJ would begin to pull away, breaking open a 19-15 advantage after a pair of kills from freshman outsider hitter Lorynes Suriel (Lynn, Mass.).
• Bay Path would fight back within two, 22-20, but kills from Heaney secured the third set for USJ, 25-20, and closed the deficit in the match to 2-1.
• After the Wildcats established a quick 6-2 lead in set four, the Blue Jays tied the set at 10-10 after a winner from sophomore middle blocker Vivian Pawloski (Wallingford, Conn.).
• However, the visitors would regain the advantage, breaking open a 21-15 gap.
• The deficit ultimately proved too great as Bay Path secured the final set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Heaney paced the team with 16 kills.
• Freshman setter Gabi Wanner (Southington, Conn.) dished out a season-high 36 assists.
• Ayala Rodriguez tallied a team-best 17 digs.
• Harris and sophomore middle blocker Sofia Weiss (Babylon, N.Y.) recorded three block assists each.
• Dugas notched a team-best three service aces.
• Bay Path narrowly outhit USJ, 21.5% to 17.9%.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays remain at home, hosting the reigning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) champions Lasell University for a conference match on Friday, October 25. Opening serve against the Lasers is set for 6:00 p.m.

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