HAMDEN, Conn. – The Saint Peter's University volleyball team (7-19, 2-13 MAAC) fell to Quinnipiac (16-11, 13-2 MAAC) in straight sets (11-25, 18-25, 19-25) on Friday at Burt Kahn Court. The Peacocks were faced with a tough challenge in playing the second-ranked team in the MAAC on the road.
The Peacocks totaled 10 blocks over three sets as
Elena Bilhartz and
Valeria Torres led the team with four blocks each. On the other end, the Quinnipiac front made it hard for the Saint Peter's offense to produce kills all match.
Jaizahir Marrero George had the most kills for the Peacocks, totaling seven while hitting .333.
At the end of the day, the Bobcats overpowered Saint Peter's for a three-set victory in Hamden.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE: The Peacocks had to dig out of a hole in the first set after going down, 1-9, early.
Sibana Gonzalez Acevedo and Bilhartz notched a couple of kills, but the Saint Peter's defense couldn't stop the Bobcats' attack. The Peacocks reached double-digit points with a Quinnipiac attack error, but they trailed 10-24. The Bobcats took set one, 25-11, following a Saint Peter's error.
SET TWO: The start of the second set was much more competitive than the first as the Peacocks trailed by just one, 6-7. A service ace by Torres kept SPU within one at 8-9. Not much later, another ace brought the Peacocks within one at 10-11, this time by
Alondra Fargas. The Bobcats put together five straight points, but Saint Peter's responded well with three points of its own. With the Peacocks trailing 15-18, Quinnipiac started to slow down the SPU attack down the stretch. With three consecutive kills, the Bobcats won set three, 25-18.
SET THREE: The Peacocks started strong in set three, jumping out to a 6-2 lead over the Bobcats. Following a Quinnipiac timeout, Saint Peter's extended its lead to six after an ace by Fargas made it 10-4. The Bobcats then rattled off five unanswered points to force a timeout by the Peacocks. Out of the break, Quinnipiac picked up two more points to bring its scoring run to 7-0 and take its first lead of the set, 11-10. Saint Peter's was able to regain its lead after a kill by Marrero George made it 14-13. The Bobcats then took charge, outscoring the Peacocks 6-1 to take a 19-15 advantage. Head coach
Fernando Colon called a timeout, giving a small spark to the Peacocks as they came within just two points, 19-21. Quinnipiac answered with three straight kills and an ace to win the set, 25-19, and the match, 3-0.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks play the Merrimack Warriors tomorrow, Nov. 8, at 3 p.m. ET for their final road match of the season.
