BUFFALO, N.Y. – In a pivotal match in the East Coast Conference, the D'Youville University women's volleyball team took a 3-1 match from Molloy University to get their first win over the Lions in program history.
 
The Saints (9-13, 5-3 ECC) were led offensively by Madeline O'Brien (Amherst, N.Y./Clarence) with 16 kills while Alex Darby (Huntington, W. Va./Spring Valley) added 11 kills. Mitha Hatwar (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) facilitated the offense, coming away with 38 assists. On the defensive end, Emma Wlostowski (Alden, N.Y./Alden) led the way with 16 digs with Kendal Haberer (Derby, N.Y./Lake Shore) adding 15 digs. Giselle Ramirez (Miami, Fla/School for Advanced Studies) was solid at the net, coming away with five solo blocks while adding two block assists.
 
In the first set, DYU jumped out to a 10-5 lead in huge part to a 5-1 run. During the stretch, the Saints were benefactors thanks to four errors by the Lions. Molloy crawled back into the set, taking a 15-14 lead. The Saints were able to recapture the lead and hold on with three-straight points to take a 20-17 lead. Darby got the Saints' point to take the lead followed by a kill by O'Brien and an ace from Darby.
 
In the second set, Molloy took the momentum to jump out to a 7-3 lead. DYU closed the deficit to two points, scoring three straight thanks in part to a kill from O'Brien and two kills from Darby to trail 12-10. The Lions were able to control the game, leading by seven points. DYU once again strung together some points to make it 20-17. DYU scored four-straight thanks to a pair of errors from Molloy. Trailing by six points late into the set, DYU was able to cut the lead to two points, scoring four-straight to make it 24-22. During the comeback, Hatwar got two kills, but the Lions were able to take set two.
 
In the third set, the Saints benefited from four errors by the Lions to take an early 4-1 lead. The Lions tried to stay in the set, but the Saints overwhelmed them, leading by as many as 11 points. The biggest stretch run for DYU came when the team scored six unanswered to take a 21-11 advantage. During the run, DYU got a pair of kills from O'Brien to go along with a pair of errors from Molloy.
 
D'Youville carried over their success into the fourth set, jumping out to a 9-2 lead. Cameron Ulinski (Parkland, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas) was big during the run, recording three kills to go along with Ramirez's two kills. DYU continued to play team ball to secure the win despite a late run from the Lions.
 
The Saints will have a quick turnaround as they host Queens College tomorrow, November 3rd, at noon.