Boston College
2-2
Central Connecticut State University
1-3
Eagles Take Wins Over Central Connecticut, UConn
September 06, 2019 | Volleyball
The volleyball team topped both of their opponents in the opening day of the UConn Challenge
STORRS, Conn. -- The Boston College volleyball team found success in both matches of their doubleheader opening the UConn Challenge on Friday, taking down both Central Connecticut State (3-1) and UConn (3-2). The Eagles improve to 3-2 on the season ahead of wrapping up the tournament tomorrow morning, facing Iona College at 11:00 A.M.
Cat Balido and Amaka Chukwujekwu set the offensive pace for the Eagles, each notching 14 kills against the Blue Devils in the morning. The Eagles out-blocked Central Connecticut, 13-10.5, behind nine blocks from Chukwujekwu and five from Clare Naughton. Madison McKnight matched her career-best with a game-high three aces while setting a new personal record in assists with 27. Jane DeJarld followed closely behind, earning 23 assists against the Blue Devils.Â
Later in the evening, the Eagles topped UConn, 3-2, in their first five-set match of the season. Jewel Strawberry (17 kills, 16 digs) and Jill Strockis (10 kills, 16 digs) each recorded double-doubles, while freshman Izzy Clavenna recorded four kills from seven attempts with just one error for a team-best .429 clip on the night. The team combined for 10.0 blocks, headed by six from Chukwujekwu.
HOW IT HAPPENED
VS. CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE
Set 1 - The teams traded points to open the match before the Eagles found a run to push their lead to 8-3 behind kills from Naughton and Strockis and a pair of blocks from Naughton and Chukwujekwu. The back-and-forth pattern found itself again but BC remained on pace and extended their lead to 18-10. Strawberry called set for the Eagles with three straight kills to round out a 25-14 win.
Set 2 - The Blue Devils found their way to an early lead, racking up a 10-4 score before forcing a BC timeout. The Eagles pushed back to cut the deficit to just three points helped by two kills from Balido and an ace from Strawberry, but CCSU earned three of the final four points to take the set, 25-20.
Set 3 - BC hopped out to a dominant 8-1 start for the third set before further pushing their lead to 12-2. At the height of the set, the Eagles found themselves up 19-5; a lead that the Blue Devils couldn't diminish despite tallying six of the final eight points of the set. Strawberry again tallied the set point for the Eagles with a 25-17 finish.
Set 4 - The teams traded points to open the fourth set, with CCSU finding the first two-point lead at 11-9. The Eagles fought back but couldn't hold the Blue Devils back from gaining a four-point lead. BC once again rallied, cutting the deficit to just one point with a 20-19 score. The set needed extra points, tied 15 times and saw eight lead changes before the Eagles won the match with a 29-27 set score.
VS. UCONN
Set 1 - The teams opened up the match evenly, trading off to find a 4-4 score before the Eagles stepped up to a 7-4 lead. The Huskies answered back with two points before BC responded with the same, taking the score to 9-6. UConn found the lead and kept going, finding 14 of the next 16 points. The Eagles earned three of the final four points of the set but it wasn't enough to erase the deficit as the Huskies earned the first set, 25-19.
Set 2 - BC found their footing and jumped to a 8-4 lead before doubling that with a 8-1 point run, pushing the lead to 16-8. UConn pushed for three of the final four points but a kill from Strockis sealed the win for the Eagles, 25-16, to tie the match.
Set 3 - The Huskies pushed for the first lead of the set, making their way to a 5-4 score after trading points. BC wasted no time in changing the lead, tallying four straight points for a 8-5 lead. They didn't stop there, allowing only two points from UConn before adding seven straight to bring their lead to 15-7. Each team added pairs of points but the Huskies couldn't battle back from another five-point run from the Eagles before Strawberry tallied the final kill to take the set, 25-13.
Set 4 - The Huskies came back with a vengeance from which BC would never recover, storming to a 10-2 lead to open the fourth set. The Eagles added two points to try to avoid a fifth set but a service error finalized the win for the Huskies, 25-15.
Set 5 - The deciding set would prove to be as evenly-contested as the entire match as the score found itself tied five different times before a four-point run by BC. UConn added one point to make the score 9-6 before allowing another four-point run from the Eagles. The Huskies answered twice but a kill from Clavenna and an ace from Makenzie Morrison finalized the win for the Eagles.Â
UP NEXT
The Eagles look to continue their momentum and sweep the UConn Challenge as they take on Iona College tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 7 at 11:00 A.M. in Storrs.
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