BUFFALO, N.Y. — D'Youville (12-10, 5-1 ECC) defeated St. Thomas Aquinas (7-11, 2-4 ECC) 3-0 (25-9, 25-16, 25-15) on Sunday. D'Youville closed the first set on a 13-0 run, turning a 12-9 lead into a 25-9 opening-set win.
D'Youville's first-set separation came in one extended stretch, turning a 12-9 edge into a 25-9 set finish with a 13-0 run. That surge included 12 straight service points, and D'Youville also had an earlier four-point service stretch in the set to build the early advantage. The same pattern carried into the next set, where D'Youville moved from 3-2 to 9-2 with a 6-0 run and later won seven of eight rallies to go from 17-13 to 24-14.
When STAC led 8-7 in the third set, D'Youville answered with a stretch that produced a 12-9 lead, then added another seven-of-eight rally push from 17-12 to 24-13. D'Youville finished with a 33-18 advantage in kills, hit .226, and limited the Spartans to a -.108 hitting percentage with 28 attack errors. The service game also remained in D'Youville's favor, with a 10-2 edge in aces, including four from
Madeline O'Brien (East Amherst, N.Y. / Clarence) and three from
Cameron Ulinski (Bretten, Germany / Marjory Stoneman Douglas). Ulinski added 11 kills and 10 digs, while
Ashley Ballou (Eden, N.Y. / Eden) directed the offense with 23 assists.
D'Youville broke open the first set with a 13-0 closing run, turning a 12-9 lead into a 25-9 finish. Ballou served the final 12 points of the set, while
Cameron Ulinski added three kills during the run and
Maddie Boglev (Hamburg, N.Y. / St. Mary's) and
Gabrielle Dials (Columbus, OH / Gahanna Lincoln) combined on blocks for the last two points.
D'Youville broke open the second set with a 6-0 run from a 3-2 edge to 9-2, including five straight service points from
Angelyn Jaramillo's (Houston, TX / Langham Creek) serve. When STAC got back to 17-13, D'Youville answered by winning seven of the next eight rallies, with
Madeline O'Brien,
Cameron Ulinski and Ballou all involved in points during the stretch. D'Youville finished off the set 25-16.
D'Youville answered an 8-7 deficit by taking five of the next six points, with
Giselle Ramirez(Miami, FL / School for Advanced Studies) contributing on consecutive blocks and
Madeline O'Brien adding a kill during the move to 12-9. The Saints later won seven of eight rallies to turn a 17-12 lead into a 24-13 set point, and Ramirez finished the set with a kill from Ballou for a 25-15 result.
Cameron Ulinski led D'Youville with 11 kills, hit .348 and added 10 digs and three service aces.
Madeline O'Brien finished with 10 kills and a team-high four service aces for 14 points. Ballou recorded 23 assists, six digs, two aces and three total blocks.
Giselle Ramirez added five kills on a .333 hitting percentage and matched the team high with five total blocks.
Up Next
The Saints are back on the road for another ECC weekend. D'Youville takes on Queens College on Saturday, October 24th and Mercy University on Sunday, October 25th.
