A bundle of errors could not stop the Bobcats as Quinnipiac volleyball defeated Marist in four sets on Saturday, its sixth program win over the Red Foxes.
The Bobcats came out firing in the first set, absolutely dominating the Red Foxes. They quickly amassed a 7-3 lead with kills from graduate opposite Elena Giacomini and freshman libero Carola Negron Diaz.
The Red Foxes rallied back, cutting the Bobcats lead to one. However, this was the closest they came to evening the score, as Quinnipiac maintained the lead for the entirety of the set, ending with two straight service aces from junior outside hitter Yagmur Gunes, who led the team with five.
A dominant first set was expected to be followed up by an even stronger second set for Quinnipiac, but that was not the case.
The Red Foxes took the lead immediately without needing to swing at the ball due to a slew of mistakes from the Bobcats.
It started with an attacking error from junior middle blocker Milena Silva, followed by four straight attacking errors from Gunes, sending the ball way out of bounds.
Things continued to look bleak for the Bobcats as Giacomini was blocked and also met with an attacking error as the Red Foxes continued to rack up points.
Two more errors from sophomore outside hitter Leilani-Kai Giusta and more points scored by the Red Foxes put the Bobcats down 13-4. Giacomini followed with a kill to make it 13-5, but could not back her serve, resulting in an error and costing her team another point.
Another attacking error and a kill from the Red Foxes forced the Bobcats into a timeout. Marist had a nine-point lead and appeared poised to take the set with ease, but coming out of the timeout, the aura enveloping the Bobcats completely changed.
Quinnipiac orchestrated a 13-5 run with two kills from Giacomini, Giusta and Gunes leading the pack with four. The score read 21-18 and the Red Foxes’ nine-point lead was cut to three.
This monumental effort by the Bobcats ended in a 25-21 loss in the second set, but
Quinnipiac confidently swept the third and fourth sets 25-14 and 25-18 respectively.
Three players reached double-digit kills in the game with Giusta racked up 11 kills, Gunes earning 14 and Giacomini accumulating 17.
The Bobcats improve to 9-11 on the season and 6-2 in conference play. They will face Siena Sunday at 2 p.m.
