WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic volleyball team hosted Mary Washington on Wednesday evening for their second home match of the season. The Cardinals came up short against the Eagles, falling 3-0.
Catholic was the first on the board, earning a point off a service error from Sydney Aiken. Mary Washington answered with two successful kills, one from Kathleen Harbaugh and the second from Natalie Brown. The Cardinals didn't let that ruin their rhythm, and it was clear that the first set would be a battle.
The Eagles took the lead, but the Cardinals continued to battle back and keep the game close.
Maura Fay paved the way in the first, logging two kills while five other Cardinals followed with kills of their own. The score was tied four times in the first, but Mary Washington held onto the lead towards the end, and they secured the win in set one, 25-16.
Capitalizing on Catholic errors, the Eagles captured the first two points of the second set. The Cardinals looked to find their groove, but Mary Washington maintained a strong defensive front, holding them off while they built on their lead and ultimately took set two, 25-14.
Catholic didn't let this stop them from fighting in the third. They opened the scoring, earning their first point off an attack error from the Eagles, followed by a service ace from
Vivian O'Brien. Mary Washington evened the score at three before going on a run of their own. It was back-and-forth for a majority of the set before the Eagles began to pull away with the lead. The Cardinals ultimately fell in the set, 25-19.
Julia Raab led the squad with six kills, followed by
Juliette Cummings and
Maddie Wilkey who each had four. Wilkey also played a crucial role at the net, logging three blocks on the day.
O'Brien,
Marin Stensrud and
Alejandra Garcia each logged service aces in the game. Stensrud also had 11 digs against the Eagles, leading the team.
Anna Maria Carella made nine assists in the meeting, and
Kate Berra also proved to be a playmaker, logging seven assists of her own.
Up next, Catholic will travel to Virginia for a match up against Lynchburg on Saturday, September 19. The meeting is set to begin at 12 p.m. at the Turner Gymnasium.
