Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Fresh off their second East Coast Conference victory of the season, the D'Youville women's volleyball team continued home ECC play Sunday afternoon at the College Center Gym. The Saints were not as fortunate this time, falling 3-1 (22-25, 16-25, 26-24, 21-25) to the Molloy Lions. The setback drops the Saints to 3-16 overall and 2-6 in ECC play this season.
Trailing by three points late in the first set, D'Youville used a 3-0 run to claw within one point of the Lions (10-11 overall, 5-3 ECC) at 21-20. Freshman Eve Musielak highlighted the run with a kill that was paired with two attack errors from Molloy. The Lions went on to win four of the final six points to take the set 25-22.
The Lions took that momentum into the second set, beginning the frame on an 8-2 run. Trailing 16-8 later in the set, the Saints made their move with a 7-2 run to cut the Lion lead to 18-14. Kills from freshman Jaycee Karelus, sophomore Brianna Damstetter, and Musielak helped D'Youville get back into the set. Molloy countered with a 7-2 run of their own to close out the second set with a commanding 25-16 victory.
Facing defeat down two sets to none, the Saints edged the Lions 26-24 to force a fourth set. An 8-1 run from D'Youville featured four consecutive kills from sophomore Sarah Wittek, Musielak, and freshman Nathalya Rocha. The run flipped a 10-6 advantage for Molloy into a 14-10 lead for the Saints. Another kill from Musielak and an attack error courtesy of Molloy helped the Saints close out the set.
Consecutive kills from freshman Emily Fischer tied the fourth set at 16 and again at 17, but D'Youville could not force a fifth set as Molloy took eight of the final 12 points to secure their fifth win over league opposition.
Musielak's 13 kills were a season and career-best for the rookie from Eden, N.Y. ... Fischer was second on the team in kills with 11 while Damstetter, Rocha, and Wittek each had six ... Killane (20) paced the Saints in digs and was followed up by freshman Emma Wlostowski (12) and Fischer (10).
The Saints posted a .318 hitting percentage in the fourth set on Sunday, marking their best hitting percentage in a single set all season and their second set over .300 on the season … The Saints hit .308 in the second set of the 3-0 victory over Roberts Wesleyan on Oct. 5.
The Saints will hit the road for four straight games beginning on Thursday, Oct. 30, at Roberts Wesleyan. The first serve is slated for 7 p.m. at the Voller Athletic Center.
Catch Thursday's match on the ECC Network and track the action on Live Stats. Make sure to follow the Saints on Instagram (@dyouvillewvb) and Twitter (@dyouvillewvb).
