WASHINGTON, D.C. — Playing in its first home tri-match of the season, the Catholic volleyball team played solid in all facets of the game and came away with two convincing victories, 3-0 in both, to get back to .500 on the season at 5-5.

MATCH ONE - Catholic 3, Nazareth 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-18)

The offense for the Cardinals was a very balanced attack throughout the set, having five different players finishing with five or more kills. The team also finished with a season-high .283 hitting percentage to take down the Golden Flyers 3-0. The defense was impressive for Catholic as well, holding Nazareth to just 27 kills in the set with just a .110 hit percentage. 

Catholic got a jump start early in the opening set, going on a 7-1 run with three Julia Raab kills as well as two from Grace Guerin. Catholic held a lead of 10 multiple times in the set with its highest lead reaching 13. The Golden Flyers went on a 7-0 run to bring the deficit back down to six but ultimately did not have enough to complete the comeback and Erin Faughnan closed out the set with a kill on an assist from Anna Maria Carella.

The team traded blows for a good chunk of the second set with the contest being all square at 15 midway through the frame. The Cardinals however captured 10 of the final 16 volleys to go on and win a 25-21 second set. Faughnan once again picked up multiple kills to help the Cardinals pull away as well as Guerin.

After falling behind 7-3 to open up the decisive third set, Catholic went on a 7-2 run helped by several Nazareth attacking miscues to take its first lead of the set 12-10. The set was sitting at 17-16, and the Cardinals once again went on an impressive 8-2 run to close out the three-set sweep. During the run, Tanya Sichling tallied two kills with Faughnan, Brynne Burgess and Ava Borcky also picking up kills to claim the win in the opener of the tri-match. 

Guerin finished with 9 kills on 15 swings for her highest hit percentage of the season (.533), followed by Sichling and Faughnan who both had seven kills. Carella and Kate Berra once again split the majority of the assists with 19 and 18 respectively. Gaby Hernandez-Ferraiuoli continues to lead the pack in the digs department, finishing the match with 18.

MATCH TWO - Catholic 3, Ramapo 0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-22)

Catholic's defensive performance was superb in its second match of the day against Ramapo. For the match, the Roadrunners hit just .009, which is the lowest the Cardinals have held a team to this season. The first two sets stood out in particular, with Ramapo hitting .000 in both of the sets with a combined 15 attack errors. 

Sichling and Guerin led the offensive attack in the opening frame for Catholic picking up five and four kills respectively. The match was even at 16 late, but the Cards kept the same poise they did in the first match and again played solid down the stretch to win 25-18. A 10-2 run spurred Catholic down the stretch and the set closed on back-to-back errors from the Roadrunners offense.

The second set was the most convincing victory of the day for the Cardinals as they got out to a 4-0 lead and did not trail throughout the entire set. Sichling led the offense once again with four kills in the set and Catholic cruised to a 25-11 set two win.

The third set was the most closely played in the match and the Cardinals found themselves trailing early-on, 7-4. Momentum shifted back into Catholic's favor when they scored on seven consecutive volleys to pull ahead 11-7. Catholic opened up a 20-16 lead late in the match but Ramapo made it a 23-22 set after a kill from Emily Shea. After a Cardinals timeout, the team responded perfectly with a kill from Sichling and took down the first match point to win 25-22 and close out a two set day. The two wins put Catholic and a three-game win streak and the Cardinals have now won four of their last five.

Sichling stood out in the win for the Cardinals with 14 kills and 14 digs for her third double-double of the season. Guerin finished behind her with six kills and four blocks and Borcky tallied four kills. Aileen McPartland was strong in service for Catholic picking up a career-high four aces. 

The Cardinals now have a week off and return to action next weekend at Lebanon Valley to compete in a tri-match with the Flying Dutchmen and Rochester. The first match of the weekend is against Rochester and it will start on Saturday September, 21 at 1 pm.