Boston College
23-13,7-11ACC
Southern Miss
21-12,10-6Sun Belt
BC Downs Southern Miss In NIVC Semifinal
December 10, 2022 | Volleyball
Eagles get their 23rd win of the season, will take on the winner of Drake and Davidson in the NIVC Championship
Chestnut Hill, Mass – Boston College defeated Southern Miss 3-1 on Saturday evening in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship Semifinals, the Eagles won by scores of 25-21, 29-27, and 25-16. BC improves their record to 23-13 overall and Southern Miss finishes their season 21-12 and 10-6 in conference play.Â
In set one, the Eagles started quick with a 12-5 lead and looked to be in control for almost the entire set but Southern Miss rallied late with 5-1 scoring run to make it 24-21 however BC would still hold on to win one more point with a clinching kill from Junior outside hitter Alayna Crabtree (Normal, Ill).Â
After Southern Miss responded in set two with a 25-16 win to tie up the match 1-1. Set three ended up being the decisive moment of the match. Both teams seemed to sense how important taking that 2-1 lead was and it was back and forth throughout until Southern Miss looked like they were going to steal it when they took a 24-22 lead. But just as they have all season long BC didn't give up with their backs against the wall, winning three straight points to force deuce at 24-24 and then finally winning two straight points at 29-27, thanks to massive kills from Graduate middle blocker Kate Brennan (Endicott, N.Y) and Alayna Crabtree.Â
BC then ran away with set four, taking a 16-7 lead and never looking back. The key run of the set came on an impressive 8-2 scoring run with everybody getting in on the action including kills from Senior right side Izzy Clavenna (Dallas, Texas), Senior outside hitter Silvia Ianeselli (Trento, Italy), Junior outside hitter Katrina Jensen and Junior middle blocker Julia Haggerty (Lafayette, Calif). This multifaceted attack where almost anybody is a threat has become a signature style for BC Volleyball this season and that was once again on display tonight.Â
Silvia Ianeselli once again led the team in kills with 14 and added 17 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Kate Brennan and Julia Haggerty once again dominated the middle and had hyper efficient performances for the Eagles, Brennan finished with 11 kills on a .526 hitting percentage and Haggerty tallied nine kills on an eye popping .818 hitting percentage to go along with four blocks as well. Alayna Crabtree recorded nine kills and a career-high 19 digs and Junior setter Grace Penn (Manhattan Beach, Calif)Â went for her fourth 30+ assist match of the season.Â
For Head Coach Jason Kennedy, this marks his 81st win of his career, which sets a new BC Volleyball program record for coaching wins, passing former Head Coach Andrea Leonard who finished with 80 in seven seasons. Kennedy breaks the record in over one less season than Leonard with him finishing up just his fifth season as BC's coach.Â
Boston College will now get ready for the NIVC Championship game next week where they will face the winner of the Drake and Davidson match which will be played tomorrow at 1 p.m. More details on when and where will be available as soon as possible.Â
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