COBLESKILL, N.Y. – The Castleton University women's volleyball team picked up a straight-set victory on Tuesday night, going on the road and downing SUNY Cobleskill 3-0 in non-conference action.
The match was tight all night long, with Castleton (5-16) claiming the sets by scores of 26-24, 25-17, 26-24. Cobleskill (3-14) held a slight edge in kills, 31-29, but Castleton hit at a higher percentage as a team with Cobleskill making 24 attack errors to Castleton's 19. Digs were nearly even at 56-55 in favor of Cobleskill.
Hailey Martinovich had a team-high eight kills, three aces and 11 digs.
Vanessa LeBrun added seven kills and 10 digs while
Denasia Pompey had seven kills herself.
Maddie Delsignore racked up 18 assists and nine digs.
Jenna Schott also had nine digs, with
Caitlin Mahoney adding eight and
Jadyn Bates adding seven. Schott also had a pair of solo blocks and an ace.
Abigail Scheurich led Cobleskill with eight kills and two blocks. Alexis Miranda had six kills for the Fighting Tigers. Victoria O'Bar led all players with 15 digs while Mackenzie Larson added 14.
Cobleskill led by four early in the first set, 9-5, but Castleton rattled off four points in a row to level the score at 9-9. Castleton took a one-point lead later in the set after consecutive Spartan points made it 13-12. Cobleskill battled back for a three-point lead behind a 6-2 run, making it 18-15 late in the opening frame. The two sides traded points before Cobleskill netted back-to-back tallies for a 22-18 lead. The Spartans scored six of the next seven points to take a 24-23 lead, but Cobleskill forced extra points in the set by leveling the score at 24-24. A kill by Martinovich and a Tiger error gave Castleton a first-set win, 26-24.
Castleton raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second set, but Cobleskill responded with three points in a row to make it 5-5. The two sides traded points until Cobleskill led 10-9, but Castleton posted a 6-0 run for a 15-10 lead. Cobleskill closed the gap to 16-14, but the Spartans kept them at bay with a four-point run and a 20-14 lead. The Spartans closed out the set with consecutive points once again, taking advantage of a pair of errors for a 25-17 win in the middle set.
After two Spartan points to open the third stanza, Cobleskill rattled off six unanswered points for a 6-2 lead. The gap grew to 12-5 after a four-point run, but Castleton began chipping away. The Spartans had a 6-1 run that shrunk the gap to two, 14-12, and a later 5-1 run gave Castleton a 22-21 lead. Cobleskill knotted the score at 22-22, but Castleton pushed forward with two points for a 24-22 lead. The Fighting Tigers staved off match point with a pair of points and a 24-24 score, but much like the first set, Castleton notched back-to-back points for the 26-24 win. Kills by Martinovich and LeBrun capped the exciting contest for the Spartans.
Castleton returns to action Saturday for a tri-match at UMass Dartmouth. Castleton faces the Corsairs at noon and WPI at 2 p.m.
