It’s been a rough start for Quinnipiac volleyball this season, as it held a 1-6 record going into last weekend’s George Mason invitational in Fairfax, Virginia.
The Bobcats were looking to hit the reset button, with lofty expectations after winning the MAAC in 2022 and finishing in second place last season.
They opened up play on Friday against Navy, and got out to a hot start with a six-point run from sophomore outside hitter Leilani-kai Giusta that included two aces.
After sailing past the rest of the first and on through the second, the Bobcats found themselves up with a promising 2-0 set lead.
However, the tides turned when Navy called a pivotal time out to jumpstart a 10-6 run and take the third set 25-17. Quinnipiac then faltered again in the fourth set, falling 28-26 after a few attempts to surge back.
On the verge of collapse, the Bobcats won the fifth set through the help of four point runs from two major parts of their offense this season, junior outside hitter Yagmur Gunes and graduate student opposite Elena Giacomini.
Later that night, Quinnipiac prepared to square off against Old Dominion. Tied at 19, Quinnipiac took advantage of some untimely errors from its opponent to secure the first set.
From there, the Monarchs battled back, and were able to win the next two with long rallies late in the sets. The fourth set was not any more forgiving, as the Bobcats never captured a multipoint lead, and fell to Old Dominion.
That only left the host team, George Mason, on the schedule. At William & Mary on Sept. 6, — Quinnipiac lost a close game to the Patriots. This time, the rematch gave the Bobcats an early season opportunity to show off their resilience.
Early on in the first, Quinnipiac took a commanding 13-6 lead off four kills from Giacomini, who hit at just a .167 clip in the first meeting. After that, George Mason rattled off a big nine-point run.
The Bobcats didn’t back down, getting the serve back to their captain, junior setter Damla Gunes. The Bursa, Turkey, native went on a seven-point run of her own, including two assists to her sister Yagmur, and two electrifying service aces. The twins put the set away with an ace from the junior outside hitter, followed by a spectacular defensive save by Damla Gunes that turned into a huge pipe ball kill.
In the second, a Giacomini kill on three-straight plays gave Quinnipiac a 16-13 advantage. It glided through the remainder with some stellar defense to once again take a 2-0 set lead. This time, the Bobcats would not sputter.
The third set was nothing short of dominance from Quinnipiac, with senior opposite Alexandra Tennon putting up a huge block in the middle to finalize the 3-0 sweep.
In Fairfax, Giacomini and Yagmur Gunes lead the offense with 40 and 37 kills respectively, and Tennon posting a .355 hitting percentage. They’ll certainly be needed this season, as head coach Kyle Robinson is now tasked with replacing star outside Ginevra Giovagnoni after she suffered a season-ending injury.
Giovagnoni was recently named MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, and led the conference in points per set last season with 4.67. She was a crucial part of a team that hummed on both offense and defense.
Last season, Quinnipiac was the best in the conference at generating and preventing kills, recording 12.92 per set and allowing just 11.02, en route to a 14-4 record.
Quinnipiac went 8-1 at home at Burt Kahn Court in 2023, a promising trend as it begins the campaign with a three-game homestand against Rider, Saint Peter’s and Merrimack.
Rider features sophomore middle hitter Molly Rhode, who finished 10th in hitting in the MAAC last season, with 12 blocks and seven kills against the Bobcats.
Meanwhile, Saint Peter’s had a painful 2023, going 0-30 and winning a mere 12 sets. It finished the lowest in the conference in points, assists and kills as well as having the highest rate of letting up aces, kills and assists.
On the bright side for the Peacock’s, they’ve hired head coach Fernando Colon. He led Division III Ramapo University to a conference title and an NCAA Tournament berth in his sole season with the Roadrunners. Colon also brings over five players from Ramapo, who combined to account for 48% of the teams’ points last season.
Finally, Merrimack is new to the MAAC this season, coming over with Sacred Heart from the Northeast Conference. Merrimack went just 7-21 last year and lost their final five games. The versatile offensive weapon, Julz Caralt returns to the Warriors for her senior season after posting 3.13 kills a set, for 287 overall, complemented by her 226 digs.
The Bobcats showed plenty of fight last year, and have already flashed that same drive early this season. Now, they should be able to take a deep breath and hone in on their MAAC opponents.
