Volleyball Gets Road NEC Victory Over Quinnipiac, 3-1

Sophomore libero Kaitlin Petrella moved into eighth place in CCSU history for career digs, and the Central Connecticut (7-11, 2-1) volleyball team defeated Quinnipiac (3-23, 0-3) on the road, 3-1 (25-11, 19-25, 25-22, 25-15). Petrella recorded a match high 17 digs and now has 826 for her career and is 70 shy of seventh place all time. Fellow sophomore Lauren Snyder notched her third double-double of the season, tallying 15 kills and 10 digs in the victory.

The first set of action was evenly matched for awhile, with the Central leading 10-7. The Blue Devils then rattled off eight straight points, mostly off of Amanda Bayer serves, to take an 18-7 lead. Junior Jamie Baumert recorded two kills and two block to spark the run and CCSU went on to win 25-11.

Quinnipiac got off to a great start in the second set, taking an 11-3 lead. Central tried to cut into the lead, but the Bobcats held on to win 25-19 on a kill by Alyssa Naylor. The freshman tallied six kills on .667 hitting percentage in the set.

Set three was the most competitive between the two squads, with neither team leading by more than four throughout the period. In this crucial set, Petrella notched eight digs and senior captain Amanda Olmstead recorded a team high six kills.

The Blue Devils put the match away with an 18-8 run to end the fourth set. Olmstead delivered the final kill on the Bobcats on an assist from Bayer. The sophomore setter recorded a set best 14 assists for CCSU.

Olmstead finished with a match best 18 kills, while adding six digs and two service aces. Baumert tallied 11 kills of her own, on .346 hitting percentage, and a match high four blocks. Bayer recorded 46 assists in the victory and added six digs and two aces.

A trio of freshman led the way for Quinnipiac. Stephanie Biediger tallied 12 kills, Kayla Lawler recorded 36 assists and Kelby Carey totaled 13 digs in the loss.

The Blue Devils are now 7-11 on the season with a 2-1 NEC record. They will next host Sacred Heart on Thursday October 30 at 7:00 p.m. The Bobcats fall to 3-23 and have yet to claim an NEC victory at 0-3. They will also be hosting Sacred Heart next, tomorrow for a 1:00 p.m. match.