Quinnipiac wins its eighth MAAC game of the season

Johnny Uricchio, Staff Writer
November 13, 2019

The Quinnipiac women’s volleyball team picked up its 12th win of the season and eighth win in conference play in three sets over the visiting Siena Saints on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

Sophomore outside hitter Olga Zampati led the team on the offensive end with 17 kills and a game high 19 points. Quinnipiac was distributing the ball effectively, finishing with 51 assists compared to Siena’s 42. Sophomore outside hitter Aryanah Diaz led the Bobcats in assists with 31.

The first set went back and forth through the first 17 points, when the Bobcats were up 9-8. The Bobcats broke this trend with a 10-3 run, giving themselves a 19-11 lead.

Quinnipiac got too comfortable with this lead as Siena battled back to tie it up at 22. Siena was in striking distance to win the set but was never able to capture a lead. However, Siena did not go down without a fight as it saved four set-points to extend the game. Quinnipiac was able to capitalize on its fifth set-point serve on an attack error by freshman left side hitter Sol Guidarelli. Quinnipiac ended up winning the set 31-29.

The biggest difference in this set was the ball-handling errors. Siena had five while Quinnipiac only had one. Siena only had two ball-handling errors for the rest of the match, both coming in the third set.

The Bobcats got off to a fast start in the second set, winning the first four points, but Siena responded winning 11 of the next 15 points, giving itself an 11-8 lead.

After a Zampati kill, Siena called a timeout trailing 20-18. Quinnipiac succeeded at holding Siena off from getting back in the set, winning five of the next seven points out of a timeout. Quinnipiac had the advantage in kills with 16 to Siena’s 13. Quinnipiac outplayed Siena in this category in all three sets.

Siena was in control through the first 25 points of the third set, as Quinnipiac never led. That changed when the Bobcats went on a 5-0 run, giving themselves a 15-13 lead. From this point on, it was an uphill battle for the Saints because they never led for the remainder of the set.
Siena tied it up on three different occasions after, but Quinnipiac responded each time with a kill. Quinnipiac closed the match on a high note, winning the last five points. Zamapti finished the match off with a kill, assisted by senior outside hitter Lauren Miller.

The Bobcats look to close the season out strong, as they travel to Gallagher Center where they will play MAAC opponent Niagara on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 1 p.m.