COBLESKILL, N.Y. – The Vermont State University women's volleyball team played a tight match with SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday evening, falling 3-1 in road action to the Fighting Tigers.
After dropping the first set 25-19, VTSU Castleton (6-13) responded with a second-set victory, 25-20. Cobleskill took the third set 25-23 and closed the night with a 25-22 win in the fourth set. The Fighting Tigers (9-12) led 56-43 in kills and 10-4 in aces on the evening. Castleton had a 7-5 edge in blocks and digs were nearly equal at 66-62 favoring SUNY Cobleskill.
Jocelyn Ray led Castleton with 16 total points coming on 11 kills, an ace and four solo blocks.
Hailey Martinovich racked up a team-leading 13 kills and had 11 digs for her second consecutive double-double, while
Vanessa LeBrun returned from a three-match absence with seven kills and a team-high 18 digs.
Maddie Delsignore collected 32 assists and added nine digs for the Spartans.
Cobleskill's Alexis Miranda had 19 kills and two aces while Kathleen Smart added 13 kills and 16 digs for the Fighting Tigers.
Cobleskill got off to a roaring start in the first set, taking a 9-2 lead out of the gate. Castleton then closed the gap to 10-6 thanks to a handful of Tiger miscues, but the lead grew back to 14-6. The teams traded points to an 18-9 lead for the hosts before Castleton went on a 4-1 spurt to make it 19-13. Three points by Cobleskill made it 22-13, but Castleton remained determined and cut the score back to 23-19 thanks to a 6-1 run. Cobleskill stopped the bleeding and ended the set with consecutive points for a 25-19 win and a 1-0 lead.
The second set went back-and-forth in the early stages before Castleton posted a 5-0 run to take a 14-8 lead. The Spartans never relinquished that lead in the set, using a late 4-0 run to cement the advantage and claim the second set 25-20.
Cobleskill took a lead midway through the third set after a 5-0 run, but Castleton battled back to level the score at 14-14. After trading points to 15-15, Cobleskill again pulled ahead with a 5-1 run for a 20-16 edge. Castleton scored the next two points, but four unanswered tallies by the Fighting Tigers made it 24-18. A five-point run by Castleton narrowed the gap to one, 24-23, but the Fighting Tigers forced a side-out to claim a 25-23 win in set three and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Castleton jumped ahead 5-1 in the fourth set and led 9-4 before Cobleskill went on a 4-0 streak to pull within a point. The Fighting Tigers later leveled the score at 11-11 but Castleton went back on top 15-12 thanks to a 4-1 run. Cobleskill again fought back to tie the match at 17-17, and later took a 20-18 lead. The two sides traded points on the way out, with Cobleskill hanging on for a 25-22 win in the final set for a 3-1 victory in the match.
Castleton is back on the court Saturday at 3 p.m. at UMass Boston.
