FAIRFIELD — It’s the third set as Quinnipiac volleyball leads two sets to none in its MAAC opener game against the Sacred Heart Pioneers, the score tied at 13. A referee’s whistle signals a substitution on the Bobcats’ side.
Senior outside hitter Ginevra Giovagnoni who has stood dressed on the sidelines for the first time in over a year steps up and joins her teammates on the court for the first time in 388 days.
“I got so emotional,” said senior setter Damla Gunes. “I’m very proud of her and I’m very happy that she’s back.”
While the Italian native only got cleared for certain plays and didn’t attack once this game, her return on the court looks more than promising.
“She’s slowly been working her way back,” head coach Kyle Robinson said. “A lot of it has to do with her comfortability and if she just keeps progressing the right way.”
“It feels so good to see her on the court,” said senior outside hitter Yagmur Gunes. “It’s kind of a relief, we know she’s a really big help for us.”
Continuing in the third set, the Bobcats trail 18-21. Damla Gunes sets the ball to freshman outside hitter Vittoria Tonelli who kills the point.
That assist became Damla Gunes’ 3431 total assist in her Quinnipiac career, tying her for the program’s all-time total assist record.
Eight points later, she broke that record.
“It means a lot because sometimes I do put a lot of pressure on myself so receiving these kinds of stuff makes me relieved,” Gunes said. “This is something that I have dreamt about so it feels really good and I’m proud.”
And while the third set was definitely the most eventful for the Bobcats, they ended up dropping it 24-26.
A minor hiccup in comparison to how the rest of the game went.
Quinnipiac’s starting line-up saw a few changes from last season, with senior middle blocker Milena Silva filling that position after Bailey Brasher transferred in the off-season, and freshman middle blocker Asia Belli filling the empty spot left by Alexandra Tennon ‘25.
“(The freshmen) have been great,” Robinson said. “It’s just fun to be on the court with players that wanna be here, that care about not just winning but the school, the program. The first-years have been amazing, you’ll see a lot more of all of them and we’re happy to have them.”
The Bobcats opened up the game with a few errors but quickly ended up finding their tempo going on a few runs to take the first set 25-14.
The Pioneers did put up more of a fight in the second but the Bobcats still snagged it 25-22. Junior outside hitter Leilani-kai Giusta led the team tonight with 18 kills, with graduate student opposite Elena Giacomini trailing behind with 14 and Yagmur Gunes with 12.
Damla Gunes ended up with 38 assists after only needing 27 to break the total assist record.
After the aforementioned hiccup in the third set, the Bobcats ended up finding a new breath after going on an early 10-0 run in the fourth, keeping that gap until they took the final set 25-12, winning their MAAC opener 3-1 against the Pioneers.
“I liked how we fought back, that was something we were struggling in the preseason,” Damla Gunes said, a sentiment echoed by her sister.
“I’m very proud of how we came back from the third set,” Yagmur Gunes said. “It happens, it’s a game.”
Quinnipiac will face its possibly biggest rival, the Fairfield Stags, Saturday at 4 p.m. in Fairfield, Connecticut, before returning back to the Burt Khan court next weekend.
“Obviously we wanna win, but we cannot focus on that so much that we put so much pressure on ourselves,” Damla Gunes said.
