JOHNSON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton swept its way through the Vermont Volleyball Classic for the second season in a row, picking up wins against Norwich and VTSU Johnson on Sunday to move to 3-0 on the young season.
This is only the third time in program history the Spartans have opened the season 3-0, and marks the team's third straight wins over both the Cadets and the Badgers. The morning victory over Norwich saw the Spartans take straight sets 25-20, 25-16 and 25-23. The afternoon session against Johnson was a grind, with Castleton outlasting the hosts 20-25, 25-17, 25-17, 19-25, 15-12.
Hailey Martinovich racked up 29 kills across the two matches, with 19 digs and four aces to her name as well.
Alondra Rojas collected 37 assists on the day and
Victoria Garcia led all Spartans with 31 digs.
VTSU Castleton 3, Norwich 0
Martinovich logged a dozen kills against the Cadets in three sets, with Rojas chipping in 15 assists and six digs.
Jocelyn Ray had four kills and three aces for seven points, and Garcia led the way with 15 digs.
Norwich started the first set quickly with a 4-0 lead, but a four-point run later in the frame by Castleton erased the deficit to knot the score at 7-7 thanks to back-to-back aces by Ray. Castleton's first lead came after a three-point burst that included a kill from Martinovich and an ace by Garcia to make it 12-11 Spartans. After a late error by the Cadets tied the score at 20-20, Garcia served the Spartans to victory, capping the set on a 6-0 run and ending the frame with an ace.
Castleton rattled off six points in a row to go ahead 6-2 early in the second, and used a 9-0 run later in the frame to pull ahead 21-10. The frame was closed out easily by the Spartans, 25-16, giving VTSU Castleton a 2-0 lead in the match.
The sides battled back-and-forth throughout the early portion of the third frame, but the Spartans pulled ahead 20-13 after a nine-point burst. Martinovich had a pair of kills in the span, giving Castleton some cushion. The Spartans needed the insurance, as Norwich stormed back with a 5-0 run later in the set to pull within three, 23-20. Face match point, the Cadets rattled off three points to stay alive despite trailing 24-23, but that was as close as they could get as Giovanna Fruci was charged with a service error to end the match.
VTSU Castleton 3, VTSU Johnson 2
The final match of the weekend was one of the best of the Vermont Volleyball Classic, with both sides trading blows throughout five sets. The Spartans were led by a huge afternoon from Martinovich, who stacked 17 kills with 16 digs on the scoresheet.
Vanessa LeBrun added nine kills and Ray had four. Rojas pitched in with 22 assists and seven digs. Garcia had another strong outing with 16 digs of her own, while
Lillirose Prevost added 11 digs on defense.
The opening set was close throughout, but the Badgers kept the Spartans at arm's length the entire frame. The match was tied 9-9 in the early portion, but VTSU Johnson never trailed in the set, taking the opener 25-20 to put VTSU Castleton in an early hole.
The Spartans rebounded nicely, picking up the pace late in the second set to even the match. Tied at 15-15, Castleton amassed four unanswered points to move ahead 19-15. After a pair of Badger tallies, the Spartans closed the set out with a 6-0 run for a 25-17 win. LeBrun had a pair of kills down the stretch to seal the frame for Castleton.
VTSU Castleton had an early lead in set three, but a four-point Badger spurt put the hosts on top 13-12. Castleton answered with its own four-point run, but Johnson leveled the score shortly after at 16-16. Six straight Spartan points—including three aces—gave Castleton a 22-16 lead. Castleton closed out the set 25-17 to move ahead 2-1 in the contest.
Johnson showed its resilience in the fourth set, scoring eight unanswered points early in the frame to go ahead 8-1. Multiple four-point runs by the Badgers extended the gap to 20-12, but Castleton had its own string of points to narrow the gap to 20-16. The deficit grew smaller at 22-19 after a kill by Martinovich, but Johnson tallied three straight points to take the fourth set 25-19 and force a winner-take-all fifth set.
Johnson led 3-1 early after a pair of Spartan errors. The two sides traded blows to an 11-10 Johnson lead in the race to 15 points, but Castleton found its rhythm with a 4-0 run to move ahead 14-11 and force match point. A service error by the Spartans extended the match, but Martinovich wasted no more time, notching a kill on the next point to put a cap on the victory for Castleton and complete the weekend sweep.
VTSU Castleton is back in action next Saturday, September 7, with a tri-match at Rivier. The Spartans will face Wentworth at 1 p.m. and Rivier at 3 p.m.
