Scranton, Pa. – Keystone College split a pair of Colonial States Athletic Conference volleyball matches on Thursday night at Marywood University. The Giants (6-11, 4-3 CSAC) swept Cairn University in Thursday's opener before a big comeback bid fell just short in a five-set setback to the host Pacers in the nightcap.
Match 1 vs. Cairn
In Thursday's opening match against Cairn (2-13, 1-35 CSAC), Keystone cruised to a 25-12 victory in the opening set before taking a 2-0 advantage with a 25-18 decision in the second game. The Giants closed out the sweep with a 25-14 triumph in the third set.
Kristen Larkin (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) and
Taylor Beatty (Virginia Beach, Va./Ocean Lakes) tied for a match-high with nine kills apiece to pace five Giants with at least five kills against the Highlanders.
Nathalie Ortiz (New Milford, N.J./New Milford) totaled seven kills,
Malley Bowen (Owego, N.Y./Tioga Central) added six kills, and
Amanda Hardy (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) put down five kills as Keystone hit .220 as a team in the victory.
Bowen led all players with 29 assists in the match and was one service ace shy of matching a school record with eight aces in the contest.
Victoria Homfeld (Smithtown, N.Y./Hauppauge) contributed a team-leading six digs in the win while Beatty was credited with three blocks.
Haley Sheehan pace Cairn with seven kills, Liz White dished out 10 assists and Micaiah Randolph picked up six digs for the Highlanders, who hit .034 in the loss.
Match 2 vs. Marywood
In Thursday's second contest versus Marywood (4-12, 3-0 CSAC), the Pacers won the first set 25-18 before winning the second frame 25-20 to claim a 2-0 lead. Keystone battled back into the match with a 25-15 triumph in the third game and staved off three match points before forcing a decisive fifth set with a 29-27 decision in a thriving fourth game.
In the fifth set, the Giants raced out to a 7-3 lead, but Marywood rallied with nine of the next 10 points to claim a 12-8 advantage. The two teams traded points before Keystone scored three straight points to cut its deficit to 13-12, but the Pacers would prevail by getting the next two points, claiming the set and the match with a 15-12 win.
Peri Sheerin put down a match-high 17 kills for Marywood while Sam Compton and Mikayla Attwood added 11 kills apiece. Annie Heyen put up a match-leading 37 assists while Jordan Vossler totaled 43 digs for the Pacers, who posted a .114 hitting percentage in the victory.
Hardy led Keystone's attack with 12 kills while Ortiz put down nine kills. Bowen and
Nicole Frascati (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) chipped in with eight kills apiece for the Giants, who hit .090 in the setback.
Bowen had a team-best 30 assists to go along with a trio of aces, tying Hardy for the team-lead.
Homfeld picked up 18 digs against the Pacers while Larkin (14),
Erika Schwoyer (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) (14), and Bowen (10) all reached double-figures in digs in the match.
Hardy tied for a match-high with six blocks in the contest.
Up Next
Keystone will return to the court next Wednesday evening with a CSAC match at Rosemont College. First serve between the Giants and Ravens is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.
