SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — D'Youville women's volleyball split a pair of matches Friday in Springfield, falling to American International, 3-1, before bouncing back with a 3-1 victory over Felician at Henry A. Butova Gymnasium.
The Saints opened the day against American International, dropping the match by set scores of 17-25, 25-22, 16-25 and 16-25.
D'Youville responded in the second set after falling behind early, using a 5-0 opening run to establish an advantage. The Saints later held a 23-22 lead before Cameron Ulinski recorded a kill from Paige Genke and followed with a service ace to close out the set, 25-22, and even the match at 1-1.
Ulinski led the Saints with 16 kills and 19.0 points against American International, adding two aces, six digs and a solo block. Madeline O'Brien added eight kills, six digs, an ace and a block assist, while Ashley Ballou finished with a team-high 16 assists. Angelyn Jaramillo led the Saints with nine digs.
The Saints returned to the court against Felician and put together a strong response, earning a 3-1 victory by scores of 20-25, 25-19, 25-23 and 25-18.
After dropping the opening set, D'Youville took control in the second with a 7-0 run that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 10-1 advantage. Ulinski recorded four kills during the stretch, while the Saints later pulled away to even the match with a 25-19 victory.
D'Youville carried the momentum into the third set, overcoming a 15-13 deficit with six consecutive points. An ace from Jaramillo put the Saints in front before kills from Hailey Ferwerda and O'Brien extended the run. With the set tied at 23-23, D'Youville closed on a Felician service error and an O'Brien block to take a 2-1 lead.
The Saints then erased an early 2-0 deficit in the fourth set before building a 5-3 advantage. D'Youville later created separation late in the frame, using two Estremera aces during a four-point run to move ahead 24-16. Ulinski finished the match with a kill from Estremera, giving the Saints the 25-18 victory.
Ulinski finished with 13 kills and 12 digs against Felician, while Ashley Ballou recorded 26 assists, nine digs and two aces. O'Brien added nine kills, two aces and a solo block, while Maddie Boglev contributed five kills and three total blocks.
Up next, the Saints will face Bentley at 9 a.m. before taking on Bridgeport at 11 a.m. Saturday to close out the weekend in Springfield, Mass.
