Box Score SCRANTON, Pa. – Senior Carah Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) led a balanced attack offensively with 16 kills and The University of Scranton volleyball team (15-7, 4-0 Landmark) extended its winning streak to eight games with a 3-1 victory over Moravian (10-12, 1-3 Landmark) in conference play on Wednesday night at the John Long Center in Scranton.
Scranton 3, Moravian 1 (25-9, 25-15, 22-25, 25-17)
Vitkus tallied three straight kills in the early going of the first set and helped the Royals open up an early 8-3 lead. Following a Moravian point, the Royals took six of the next seven points and a Vitkus service ace extended the lead to 14-5. The Greyhounds were unable to get any closer than eight the rest of the way and the Royals cruised to a 25-9 win as an attack error sealed the victory.
In the second set, Scranton held a slight 9-8 edge when consecutive kills by sophomores Kaitlyn Canelas (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville Road) and Catherine O'Sullivan (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul D. Schreiber) ignited a stretch where the hosts took 11 of a possible 13 points and a kill from freshman Erin Gretsky (Middletown, N.Y./Saint John Vianney) stretched the lead into double digits at 20-10. Gretsky later added another kill to seal the second set victory at 25-15.
The Royals held a 15-12 lead near the midway point of the third set, but Moravian put together a rally and broke a 21-all tie by taking four of the final five points for the 25-22 victory.
Things were tight for a majority of the fourth set and Scranton held a 15-13 advantage before a Greyhounds service error set the tone for the hosts taking eight of the next nine points for a 23-14 lead. Junior Stephanie Margolies (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) came through a kill for the 25-17 win in the set and the eighth straight win overall for the Royals.
Vitkus' 16 kills marked the 15th time this season that she has registered double-digit kills and three other players added six kills apiece for the Royals in Gretsky, Margolies and senior Abby Rzucidlo (Garnet Valley, Pa./Ursuline Academy).
Fellow senior Caileigh Cox (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) distributed 29 assists in the match and sophomore Gianna Detorie (Rumford, R.I./Bishop Feehan) chipped in with 13 of her own.
Freshman Maddie Forry (Reading, Pa./Exeter Township) led the way defensively with 23 digs and also added three assists and three service aces in the victory, while Vitkus also contributed 10 digs.
The Royals will host Marymount (Va.) in a non-conference match on Friday evening at the John Long Center with first serve slated for 6 p.m.
--ROYALS--
