BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Catholic women's volleyball team battled Moravian in a five-set Landmark Conference match on Friday evening. The Cardinals showcased a balanced offensive attack and a strong defensive presence at the net, but fell in the match 2-3.
Moravian opened the scoring and quickly built an early lead with a four-point run over Catholic. The Cardinals found a groove in the first set, scoring five-straight to even the score at nine. It was back-and-forth from there, until the Greyhounds took a substantial lead. They picked up the final two points to take set one, 25-21.
Catholic set the tone in set two, scoring the first point on a Moravian attack error. The two teams went point-for-point before the Cardinals went on a seven-point run over the Greyhounds to take their largest lead of the set. Moravian attempted to chip away at Catholic's advantage, but the Cardinal defense held strong, and they won the set 25-17 to knot the match score at 1-1.
Catholic once again had a strong set, taking the first two points by way of attack error and kill from
Laci Freitas. The Cardinals held onto that lead, extending it later in the set with another seven-straight. During that run,
Julia Raab logged a service ace while Freitas picked up another kill, and Catholic capitalized on errors to build a 10-point lead. The Greyhounds tried to narrow the gap, but kills from
Kate Kozlowski,
Juliette Cummings,
Mariana Roman Cruz, and Raab allowed the Cardinals to maintain control, and they earned the win in set three, 25-20, taking the lead in the match, 2-1.
With a strong start in set four, Moravian managed to force a set five. The Greyhounds build an early lead, recording 13 kills and taking advantage of Catholic errors. They took set four, 25-19, evening the score at two sets apiece.
Set five saw a solid Moravian performance from the first serve. The Greyhounds scored the first six points, and the Cardinals were left to break up their momentum. Despite nine Cardinal kills in the fifth, Moravian pulled out the win, 15-12 to take the match 3-2.
Offensively, the Cardinals recorded 52 kills, with five players finishing with seven or more. Raab led with 13, followed by Freitas with 12, then Kozlowski with nine. Cummings and
Maddie Wilkey each added seven.
Anna Maria Carella and
Kate Berra were consistent playmakers, Carella leading with 22 assists, followed by Berra who recorded 18. Carella also had an impressive five service aces on the day.
On the defensive end, Catholic recorded 86 digs, led by
Alejandra Garcia with a career-high 31 digs. Freitas followed with 15, then Raab with 13, and Kozlowski with 12. Freitas also had an impressive day at the net alongside Cummings, each logging three total blocks.
Up next, Catholic will continue its road weekend with a Tri-Match at the Marts Center on Saturday, October 10. The Cardinals will first take on the host Wilkes at 11:00 a.m., before facing off against Hunter at 1 p.m.
