The Bobcats failed to win a set for the fourth straight game, as they were shut out in their home opener 3 sets to none against St. Francis (Pa.) (6-9, 2-0 NEC) Sat. afternoon at Burt Kahn Court.
Quinnipiac (1-11, 0-3 NEC) has now lost five straight games. They will finish the weekend homestand tomorrow at Burt Kahn Court against Robert Morris at 1p.m.
“Our defense was phenomenal,” head coach Kristopher Czaplinski said. “That’s what we were working on all week. We just gotta get our ball control better and we should be fine.”
After a rough start for the Red Flash in the first set, they got back on their feet and dominated the Bobcats. Trailing 2-0 early, Quinnipiac failed to capitalize, as senior Taylor Payne overshot a spike and the team was called for a penalty, tieing the game. St. Francis went on a 9-4 run to give them an 11-6 lead before Bobcats’ head coach Kristopher Czaplinski called the team’s first timeout.
Red Flash senior Amanda Zahumensky scored two fierce strikes after the timeout was called, keeping the momentum with St. Francis. Both teams would play evenly when Red Flash head coach Chuck Mullen called his first timeout with his team up 19-14. That timeout was all they needed, as St. Francis scored six straight to end the first set with a 25-14 victory.
The beginning of the second set showed both teams evenly playing back and forth. After a Red Flash fault that made the game 8-7 St. Francis, Quinnipiac gave up five straight points, including two strikes from Zahumensky. The Bobcats’ scoring was erratic, going on runs of three straight points to four in a row. Bobcats junior Bonnie Conklin did her best to keep Quinnipiac alive with two straight scores, only then trailing 24-20. But the inconsistency cost them the second set as well by a score of 25-20.
The final set was the Bobcats best chance to attempt a comeback. St. Francis committed three faults and a foul early on that gave Quinnipiac a 4-3 lead. After sophomore Tierra Allen failed to dig up a St. Francis spike, the Red Flash scored eight unanswered points, giving them a 12-5 lead.
After a Bobcats spike that had them trailing 13-6, Quinnipiac scored six unanswered of their own to cut the deficit to one. Later on in the set, a nice touch from Bobcats’ sophomore Brittanie Robinson helped the team get close and only trail 22-20. A late Red Flash fault made it 24-23, but St. Francis junior Breanna Kochinsky literally ran from side to side and finally ended the game with a spike.
“The intensity was good, the crowd was awesome,” Czaplinski said. “For our first home game, we’re pretty happy, but losing is never good.”
