Boston College Athletics
Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller Over New Hampshire
September 03, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 3, 2010 - Cambridge, Mass.
The Boston College volleyball team defeated the University of New Hampshire in a dramatic, five-set victory, 25-22, 17-25, 18-25, 25-23, 17-15, on Friday night at Malkin Athletic Center in the Harvard Tournament. The Eagles (2-3) were led by junior outside hitter Tsvetelina Dureva, who recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs, and freshman middle hitter Melissa McTighe, who added four blocks, six kills and a .357 hitting percentage.
"UNH is a great squad," head coach Chris Campbell said. "They are well coached and that was a good match on all ends. I did not like that we gave up leads in the earlier games, however we rebounded, played strong in game four and showed a lot of tenacity down-the-stretch in game five. That's a good sign to see in a young team. I was quite happy with their determination and we'll need that moving forward."
Two other Eagles established new career-high marks. Sophomore outside hitter Val Mattaliano tallied 12 kills and four blocks, while senior libero Kristen Baader recorded 24 digs.
"Val and Lina were switched from left and right for game four," Campbell said. "They adjusted well and they did a nice job for us tonight. Melissa led the team with four blocks and was rolling for us in the middle. I was also happy to for Krissy [Mussenden] to do well after not playing volleyball for almost four months ."
Boston College won the first set, 25-22. Sophomore middle hitter Krystle Higgins stormed out of the gate with three kills, a block assist and one service ace to give the Eagles an early 12-7 lead. At that point, the Wildcats began to inch back. At 15-13, a kill by sophomore Val Mattaliano regained the momentum for BC. The Eagles would not surrender the lead and held on to claim the first set.
New Hampshire tied the match with a win in the second set, 17-25, and won the third set, 18-25, for the 2-1 match advantage.
In the fourth set, the Eagles evened the match, 2-2. Both sides were trading points, but at 13-all BC pulled away on a combination of kills from senior middle hitter Melanie Cimino and sophomore setter Krissy Mussenden, paired with a block by McTighe and several Wildcat errors. BC claimed the set, 25-23.
Boston College won the fifth and deciding set, 17-15. The Eagles raced out to a lead, 7-4, behind a pair of kills from Dureva and a block by Cimino and Mattaliano. The momentum was halted by a UNH timeout. The Wildcats then tied up the score at 10 and eventually sat a match-point, 12-14. Dureva responded with two kills to even the match. After the teams traded errors, Mussenden recorded her second ace of the game and another block by Cimino and Mattaliano gave the Eagles the win.
"If we continue to show the effort we put forth tonight every week, we are going to be doing well at the end of the season," Campbell stated.
Boston College returns to action Saturday, Sept. 4, in the Harvard Tournament. The Eagles will play Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m. and Harvard at 8 p.m. The match versus the Crimson will be available for live-streaming.
-BC-
