ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. — The D'Youville University volleyball team opened ECC play with a thrilling five-set victory Saturday, rallying past Molloy University, 3-2, with set scores of 34-32, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25 and 15-11.
The Saints finished the match with 66 kills on a .245 hitting percentage and held a 12-3 advantage in total blocks. D'Youville also finished with more assists and digs than the Lions.
D'Youville battled through an extended opening set, scoring four of the final five points to take a 34-32 victory. Madeline O'Brien recorded kills to give the Saints a 31-31 tie and a 33-32 advantage before Giselle Ramirez finished the set with a kill.
The Saints built an early 12-5 lead in the second set behind kills from Gabrielle Dials and O'Brien, along with an Ashley Ballou service ace. Molloy rallied to tie the set at 19-19, and the teams remained even at 23-23 before the Lions scored the final two points to even the match.
D'Youville answered in the third set, taking control after Molloy pulled within one at 19-18. An Angelyn Jaramillo ace helped spark a three-point run, while Ramirez and Ballou added kills as the Saints claimed the set, 25-20.
After Molloy took a late lead in the fourth set, D'Youville fought back to tie the score at 20-20. The Saints then fought off set point with a Dials kill and a block from Ballou and Ramirez, but Molloy secured the final point to force a deciding fifth set.
The Saints took control of the fifth set after Molloy tied the score at 9-9. Cameron Ulinski delivered three straight kills before she and Maddie Boglev teamed up for a block, putting D'Youville ahead 13-9. O'Brien added a kill to make it 14-10, and a Molloy service error sealed the 15-11 victory for the Saints.
Ulinski led D'Youville with 18 kills, twelve digs and four total blocks for 21.5 points. O'Brien posted a team-high 19 kills while adding 10 digs, one ace and one block assist. Ramirez finished with 14 kills while hitting .500 and added four block assists.
Ballou orchestrated the Saints' offense with 53 assists while contributing twelve digs, six block assists and three service aces.
Up next, D'Youville travels to Sparkill, N.Y., to take on St. Thomas Aquinas College Sunday, Oct. 4, at noon.
