The Quinnipiac volleyball team won its first match of the season on Sunday afternoon, beating St. Francis (N.Y.) in straight sets at Burt Kahn Court. They took the first set 25-21, before coming from behind and winning the second and third sets 25-23.
Sophomore Kayla Lawler led the Bobcats with a season-high 40 assists, and sophomore Kelby Carey had a career-high 16 kills to lead their team to victory. The win in their home- and conference-opener pushed the Bobcats record to 1-10 (1-0 Northeast Conference), while the Terriers fell to 0-7 (0-1 NEC).
“We’re in first place in conference,” Bobcats head coach Robin Sparks said. “We are still an incredibly young team, so when it gets on the line, everybody needs to work together. You can’t do it one-on-one. We’ve been trying to do it individually, but today I think they finally pulled together and did it as a group.”
The Bobcats took the first set in a controlling manner. They jumped out to an early 9-5 lead on three straight serves by freshman libero Logan Riker. She ended the game with 10 digs, and a teamhigh three aces. The Bobcats wouldn’t let their early four-point lead slip away, and won the first set 25-21.
The second set proved to be a bit more challenging for the Bobcats. The Terriers jumped out to a 19-14 lead, forcing Coach Sparks to take a timeout. Coming out of the huddle, a kill by freshman Chelsey Pachoud and a Terriers’ error forced the guests to take a timeout. Pachoud once again came out of the huddle with a kill, and the Bobcats were now only down 19-17.
Pachoud then dazzled with strong defense, recording a team-high 11 digs and two blocks, as well as 12 kills, helping the Bobcats in their comeback effort. With the score tied at 23, Riker served two aces in a row to take the second set.
The third set saw much of the same. The Terriers took a 14-10 lead before the Bobcats eventually tied it up at 18 and forced another timeout. Coming out of this timeout, Alyssa Naylor recorded two straight kills to give the Bobcats the lead for good, 20-18. Naylor finished the game with 11 kills and a .588 hitting percentage. A few rallies later, a kill by Carey gave the Bobcats its first match point, and Pachoud then tipped a ball for the game-winning kill.
After the game, Carey talked about the success coming out of the timeouts.
“She (coach) told us to just play hard, and that it was our game,” Carey said. “So we went out there and did our thing.”
The Bobcats hit the road today to take on intrastate rival CCSU in an NEC match beginning at 7 p.m.
