Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - The University of Scranton volleyball team will return to the Landmark Conference playoffs next month, as the Royals stormed past Elizabethtown (in three sets) and Moravian (in four sets) on Friday evening to finish the conference year fourth in the standings.
With the victories, Scranton improved to 15-13 overall, finishing the Landmark Conference season with an even 3-3 record.
Scranton 3, Elizabethtown 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-17) | Box Score
In their first match of the afternoon, the Royals coasted past host Elizabethtown in three sets to take their second Landmark Conference win of the season in the process.
In the win, the Royals grabbed all momentum away from the Blue Jays in the first set.
In the opening game, E-Town opened a 17-12 lead on the Royals in the middle of the set, only to see Scranton rattle off a 12-6 run to take the game. Included in the surge was Scranton scoring the final five points of the set after falling behind, 23-20.
From there, Scranton opened huge leads in both the second set and the third set to coast to a three-game victory, eliminating the Blue Jays from Landmark Conference playoff contention in the process.
Overall, sophomore Kristin Kirwan (Park Ridge, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy) led the Royals attack yet again, slamming home a match-high 12 kills, while hitting .333 in the win. Kirwan also notched 11 digs and had two block-assists in the victory, as well.
Elsewhere, senior Brittany Cafiero (Merrick, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) posted 29 assists and had 10 digs, while freshman Victoria Capogna (Farmingdale, N.Y./St. Anthony's) had seven kills and four block-assists up front to round out the top performers in the first match of the day for Scranton.
Scranton 3, Moravian 1 (25-22, 25-15, 18-25, 25-20) | Box Score
In a huge match with Moravian, the Royals stepped up to the occasion and knocked off the Greyhounds in four sets to clinch their third straight Landmark Conference Tournament spot since the conference tournament went to four teams.
In the opening set, Scranton opened up a big lead early in the set (18-10), then fought off a furious rally by Moravian to take the game. The rally for the Greyhounds stopped with the game tied 22-22, as Scranton scored the final three points of play to go up 1-0.
After a dominating 10-point win in the second set put the Royals up 2-0, Moravian bounced back in the third set with a seven-point win, extending the match into a fourth game.
There, the Royals put away Moravian, as Scranton never looked back after taking an 18-8 lead in the middle of the set, rolling to a five-point win to take the match in four and clinch their spot in the Landmark Tournament.
In the Moravian match, Kirwan and sophomore Megan Monastra (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) had big games to lead the attack.
Kirwan went into double-figures yet again on kills, recording 13, to go along with 14 digs.
For Kirwan, this marks the sixth straight match that she's gone into double-figures in the kills department, as the sophomore has now gone over 400 total kills for the year (403), making her one of 11 student-athletes to go over the 400 kills mark in a season in program history.
Meanwhile, Monastra chipped in with 11 kills, her fourth double-digit kill match of the year. Sophomore Catherine Manning (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) ended the match with nine kills, junior Morgan Rentzheimer (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) had eight, and Cafiero ended the contest with 28 assists to round out the top performers in the win.
The University of Scranton volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday, traveling to Penn State Berks for a single contest. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
--ROYALS--
