By ALEX HORTON
Sports Editor
The Women’s Volleyball team started its 2015 regular season at the Long Island Invitational hosted by Dowling College, where they took on NYIT, Dowling and East Stroudsburg.
Even after a disappointing loss in which NYIT shut out Saint Rose 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-20), the Golden Knights took down host Dowling 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 17-25, 25-22, 15-10) and East Stroudsburg 3-1 (25-16, 25-19, 21-25, 25-21).
When looking at the statistics of the loss to NYIT, the game was a lot closer than the score dictated. Saint Rose led in kills (37-36) and in total attempts (112-107) whereas NYIT edged Saint Rose in assists (36-36), blocks (8.0-5.0) and aces (5-1).
Where Saint Rose seemed to struggle most was errors, of which they had 20 and NYIT had 15. MaryEllen Devic lead the Golden Knights and posted her first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 13 digs, with senior co-captain Carissa Dube following close behind with nine kills.
The Golden Knights rebounded strong, stealing a win against host Dowling after going down two sets to one, winning the fourth and fifth games, going on a 4-0 run to win the fifth game.
Devic added another double-double against East Stroudsburg, putting up 11 kills and 13 digs, which brought her total for the weekend to 26 kills and 27 digs. Junior Samantha Atchinson had 41 digs, while setters Erika Ziskin and Sam Kubik dished out 33 assists each throughout the second day of the tournament.
“I’m expecting great things, and this weekend proved that we can do it,” said Dube. The Golden Knights ended last season with an 18-9 record while going 10-4 in NE 10 Conference play. Saint Rose lost in the quarterfinals of the league tournament and ended their season with a 3-0 shutout against New Haven in the NCAA East Regional.
“The progression from preseason so far has been pretty dramatic. We went from a team with a lot of new faces that hadn’t played together, and had to figure out the system,” said head coach Brian Goodale. “Now that we are three weeks in, we really need to continue to improve. We have a lot of new players and need to learn to gel, play very fast and take advantage of our athleticism.”
The Volleyball team will play in the Roberts Wesleyan Quad Match, where they will take on Millersville University on Friday, September 11, and will proceed to play Indiana Univeristy of Pennsylvania and Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday. The Golden Knights will begin home play on September 18 against Clarion University in the Saint Rose Tri-Match.
