09/17/2009
Volleyball: Cougars Go Five But Fall 3-2 To Mt. Ida

Release courtesy of Mount Ida Sports Information

Newton Centre, Mass. - Led by Mustang sophomore setter Kira Feeter (Keene, NH/Keene) with an amazing double-double of 19 assists and 13 digs, the Mount Ida College women's volleyball team conquered a 3-2 match victory over visiting non-conference Clark University on Thursday evening.

The Mustangs improve to 4-4 in 2009 with their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match approaching this Saturday. The Cougars' slip to 1-4 overall dropping their third loss in a row.

The anticipation for a very competitive match came true in game one with the Mustangs leading by two up 6-4 after one point of separation for the first couple of rallies. Mount Ida pulled ahead by a game high eight with a 17-9 advantage looking very strong offensively with minimal errors.

The Cougars came storming back helped by a handful of costly errors by the hosts to shrink the lead back to a deuce at 17-15. The hosts jumped back ahead by five (20-15) snuffing out the comeback with strong play around the net by freshman Christine Gallart (Germantown, MD/St. John's) adding four solo blocks. But the visitors kept chipping away eventually tying it up after a 6-1 run knotting the score at 21-21. After another tie at 23-23, the Cougars capitalized on two costly Mustang errors capped by a mammoth kill by Clark sophomore Nicole Sullivan (Marshfield, Mass.) capturing the 26-24 game one victory.

At the start of game two the Mustangs jumped out to a five point lead (7-2) due to several errors committed by the visiting team. Mount Ida maintained the advantage throughout the game by strong defensive play from senior Amanda Pereira (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) and sophomore Rachelle Gilbert (Corunna, IN/Dekalb) who combined for seven digs. With a strong effort by Sullivan late and a few errors by the Mustangs, the Cougars began to rally back within two points (24-22). However Mount Ida remained resilient and was able to knot the series 1-1 with a game two victory (25-22).

The Mustangs cleaned up game three quicker than the previous two leading 6-2 early on. The visitors kept pace tying the score at 7-7 after consecutive errors by Mount Ida. Senior captain Lauren Biondo (Coventry, RI/Coventry) notched consecutive kills followed by a blocking error by the visitors to pull ahead by three up 11-7. The Cougars only managed to notch four more points during game three while the Mustangs pounded the offense going on a 9-5 run with more outstanding play around the net by Gallart leading 20-12. Mount Ida closed things out on a couple of kills with the final point coming off a service ace by Pereira for the 25-15 win leading 2-1 in the match.

Similar to game two, the Mustangs started off hot with an 8-2 advantage with Gallart tallying three consecutive kills. Mount Ida was unable to hold on to their lead as the Cougars tied the game at 13 a piece. Freshman Devyn Frank (Mystic, CT/Fitch) showcased a solid individual effort with four blocks and four kills. However, Clark's Sullivan was too much for the Mustangs as she led her team with three consecutive kills tying the series at 2-2 with a 25-21 game four victory.

In the deciding game of the match, the Mustangs pulled ahead 2-0 of two kills from sophomore Chelsea Darnell (Dublin, OH/Dublin Scioto) and Cherie Parisi (South Attleboro, MA/Attleboro). After the Cougars tied it (2-2) the score knotted eight times up until Mount Ida regained the advantage 11-9 on a Darnell kill and a very lucky point by Gallart. The Mustangs eventually sealed it on four kills, two by Parisi and one a piece from Gallart and Gilbert for the 15-11 game five win and the 3-2 non-conference match victory.

Clark will look to return to the win column with a NEWMAC match on Saturday at Mount Holyoke.