The Marist women’s volleyball team collected their third straight victory on Wednesday night against the Quinnipiac Bobcats in four sets. With that win, the Red Foxes are fourth in the MAAC with a 3-2 conference record.
For the third straight match, the Red Foxes got off to a fast start by taking the opening set 25-18. Marist played on the front foot for a majority of the first set, leading in kills and creating six attacking errors from the Bobcats.
“I thought Jordan Newblatt and Madelyn Waumans played really well in the first,” head coach Sean Bryon said.
The second set was a little different, as Quinnipiac did a much better job forcing mistakes out of Marist. With the score standing at 14-9 in the favor of the Bobcats, both teams engaged in a rally that was capped off by a point for Quinnipiac. Marist was unable to close the gap as the Bobcats took the set 25-16. Quinnipiac was incredibly efficient at the net in second, holding a .556 hitting percentage and leading in kills 17-9.
“The loss in game two was really on us. We came out and served a couple balls in the net early and made some mistakes,” coach Bryon said.
Marist regained the match lead by taking the third set by a score of 25-16. With the score at 12-10 in favor of the Red Foxes, the home team stretched their lead to nine with a quick 8-1 run. Quinnipiac would score three of the next four points, but Marist ended up pulling away to take a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth.
The Red Foxes continued to attack the net in the fourth, obtaining an early 7-4 lead in the set. Quinnipiac cut the deficit to as little as two, but Marist picked up the tempo as they pulled away. The home team went on a 13-8 run to take the fourth and final set 25-15.
Middle hitter Vanessa Zolg was a standout performer for the Red Foxes on the night. The sophomore from Santa Ana, California had a season-high 21 kills and also contributed 7.5 points.
Outside hitter Jordan Newblatt had another excellent showing against the Bobcats, adding 18 kills and a team-high 21.5 points. The sophomore from Clarkston, Michigan is now second on the team with 3.11 points per set and 2.86 kills per set.
Marist returns to play on October 2nd at 1 p.m., when they face the Saint Peter’s Peacocks at the Yanitelli Center in Jersey City, New Jersey. The Red Foxes are 28-15 against Saint Peter’s all-time, including a 21 match win streak that stretched from 2008-2018.
Edited by Connor Kurpat
Photo from Marist Athletics