Boston College Athletics
Boston College
4-4
LIU Brooklyn
6-3
LIU Brooklyn Defeats Volleyball in Five Sets
September 13, 2014 | Volleyball
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -
Boston College (2) LIU Brooklyn (3)
The Eagles began the final day of the LIU Brooklyn Tournament against the host team in an early Saturday morning matchup. The Blackbirds and Eagles have met just twice, with the Eagles holding a 2-0 record over Long Island.
BC and LIU traded points throughout the first several plays, both teams showcasing their strong hitters and scrappy defenses. Multiple long rallies and spectacular digs made for a long, competitive first set.
The game remained close, neither team leading by more than one point until late in the set. Finally, at 19-17 the Eagles grabbed their largest lead of the morning, just two points up. After one more point off a kill from freshman Sol Calvete, the Blackbird's coach called a timeout in an effort to refocus his squad.
The Eagles pushed for four straight points out of the timeout, bringing up set point at 24-17. Courtney Castle finished set one with a service ace. The Eagles had three hitters in Katty Workman, Calvete and Brittany Pavich hit over .400 in set one.
Set two began similar to the first, with each team posting big hits and putting balls away down the line and cross court. The Blackbirds grabbed a 5-9 lead, and Coach Campbell called a timeout early in the second to regroup the maroon and gold.
Campbell's efforts were not successful, as the Blackbirds continued to lead throughout the second set. The Eagles made an effort to get back into the second set, but LIU Brooklyn topped them 16-25.
After a loss in set two, the Blackbirds held onto their momentum from the win, grabbing a 2-5 lead from the start of set three. The Eagles put their foot down on the lead and brought it within 1 at 5-6, and continued their surge to tie the game at 6. The Blackbirds, a Northeast Conference team, was determined to show that they could hang with an ACC team as they fought for a four point lead in the mid-third making it 8-12.
The Eagles continued to chip away one or two points at a time, but were never able to get more of a run than that going. Towards the end of the third though BC made a monster comeback to pull within 1 at 22-23, forcing the Blackbirds to call their first timeout of the set. However, LIU Brooklyn was able to hold off the Eagles in set three, winning 23-25.
Set four showed a tough Eagles team, but also a gritty Blackbird team. After dropping down 3-8 the Eagles pushed out six consecutive points to tie the game back at 8-8. Then a kill from Topor gave BC the upper hand for the first time in set four.
Workman ripped a ball down the line for her 13th kill of the match, bringing the score to 14-12 in the Eagles' favor. BC led by four down the stretch, giving them a 17-13 lead, their largest of the set.
The Eagles and Blackbirds battled through the final points of the set, exchanging points in the 20s. At a 24 point tie, the Eagles earned a point bringing them within one of the win, but LIU Brooklyn put a cross court ball away on the ten foot line.
With a third consecutive set point, Barnum went back for the serve and a monstrous block from Anna Skold brings the match to a fifth set with a 26-24 victory in the fourth.
The fifth set started with a little mishap for the Eagles, as the first point went to the Blackbirds on a rotation error. Then the Eagles gained control with big kills from Pavich and Workman and valiant efforts on defense from Castle.
The Blackbirds gained some ground, grabbing the 6-8 advantage at the mid-set side switch. The host team also was the first to reach double digits at 10, with the Eagles close behind at 8. Unfortunately the Eagles were unable to to rally back, losing the fifth set 13-15. The Eagles are 1-4 in 5-setters this season so far.
Boston College was led by junior Workman who again tallied 18 kills, and also achieved her second double-double of the weekend with 17 digs. Calvete had 12 kills and Pavich was third on the team with 10.
Castle's efforts anchored the Eagle's defense, as she scooped up 24 digs and added an ace. The net defense for the Eagles was solid, with Pavich tallying 5 total blocks, and Topor, Skold and Calvete each notching 4 total blocks. Kellie Barnum dished our 34 assists.
The Eagles will be back in action this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. versus Northern Kentucky for their final match of the LIU Brooklyn Tournament.
