Emily Evancho
Assistant Sports Editor
The women’s volleyball team pulled through its matches this past weekend with a loss against Canisius and two victories over Fairleigh Dickinson and Rider, respectively. These were the first home court matches of the season for the Bison.
In the match against Fairleigh Dickinson on Sept. 13, the Orange and Blue entered the match with the intent to win, triumphing in their first set easily. Fairleigh Dickinson finally awakened, providing tough competition in the second and third sets. But ultimately the Bison dominated the court with six straight points in the fourth set, leading to a hard fought win in the fifth set. Katie Price ’16 achieved 21 digs during the match, while Morgan Mientus ’14 recorded 13 kills and 11 digs. Keane Brazda ’17 also pulled in 14 assists in three sets, bringing the match to a 3-2 win.
“We played really well as a team this weekend and it showed when we had to go to a fifth game with Fairleigh Dickinson which is a short game to 15 and takes everyone on the court and bench to step up and focus for 20 minutes,” Brazda said.
The Orange and Blue had an even tougher fight in the team’s first match on Sept. 14 against Canisius. The Bison secured the first two sets of the match but lost steam heading into the third set. The Bison ultimately dropped the match into lap of Canisius with a 3-2 loss.
The defeat did not hold back the momentum of the Orange and Blue in their second match of the day, when they pulled a 3-1 victory from the teeth of the Rider Broncs. The match was a tug of war in which the Bison captured the first two sets only to be beaten by Rider in the third. In the fourth set, the Orange and Blue came back determined, only trailing once to eventually claim victory after taking advantage of Rider’s three service errors during the match.
Mientus continued her solid performance, posting 12 kills against the Broncs and double-digit digs for both matches on the day, followed by Price who made 42 digs combined from both matches. Brazda also pushed the team with 59 assists in the two matches. Also for the Bison, Karen Campbell ’16 and Jordan Walker ’17 represented the Orange and Blue on the All-Tournament Team.
“Our hard work during pre-season is paying off,” Brazda said. “We plan to take this mentality into Patriot League play.”
The Orange and Blue return to the court tonight to challenge Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. Tomorrow, the team will travel to West Point, N.Y. to battle Army.