Aston, Penn. - The John Jay women's volleyball returned to Manhattan with a pair of wins on Saturday, after sweeping the weekend tri-match hosted by Neumann University.
The Bloodhounds opened the day with a 3-0 win over Marywood and finished the day by defeating the host Knights in five sets.
Junior outside Josanne Lewis combined for 41 kills over the two matches, a season-high mark over any two matches this season.
MATCH ONE: John Jay 3 | Marywood 0
The Bloodhounds' attack was in sync from the first point against Marywood, finishing the three-set win with 38 kills, hitting .250 for the match.
John Jay led by as many as 14 points in the opening set. Lewis led the way with five kills and six digs.
Despite initially trailing in the second set, Reilly Catan's first turn behind the service line put the Bloodhounds back in front. The Oneonta native scored a pair of aces that, combined with two more kills by Lewis, pushed the visitors to an 11-6 lead.
Lewis's five kills in the middle frame were the difference, as the team hit for a match-high .344 in the set and extended its lead to as many as nine points.
That lead was extended out to double digits in the final point, as the Bloodhounds doubled their match lead with a 25-15 second set.
A new group took the floor for John Jay in the third set as the Bloodhounds looked to close out Marywood. Ellmedina Hodzic, Alex Overkamp, Nina Bongiovanni and Kristin Gretener joined Lewis, Sadowitz and Malia Reyes for the final points.
The Pacers seized on the new lineup to reach its biggest lead in any set, 10-2. Marywood held a formidable lead until the late points of the frame, taking advantage of a match-high eight errors by the Bloodhounds.
With the Bloodhounds down seven points, Sadowitz kicked off a 7-0 run that featured three Lewis kills and a block by Overkamp. That run of form tied the set at 18-all and spurred John Jay to clinch a three-set win.
Sadowitz and Rylea Sandel held firm at the net with a block to give their side a two-point lead and the Bloodhounds clinched the third set and the match with a 25-21 victory.
Josanne Lewis finished with 18 kills in the win, one of her highest marks in a three-set match this season, and made it a double-double with 11 digs.
MATCH TWO: John Jay 3 | Neumann 2
The Bloodhounds' positive momentum continued in the second match as the visitors scored their first win in a five-set match this season.
Ten first-set attack errors put the Bloodhounds in a hole to the tri-match hosts to begin the final match. The Knights recorded six of their 14 service aces in the opener, pushing them to a 25-16 win.
Lewis was the sole driver of the Bloodhound attack in the second set, logging ten successful swings on 15 attempts. After playing from behind for the majority of the set, John Jay won the final eight points of the set to take a 25-18 win. Lewis scored five of her kills in that stretch.
John Jay managed just eight kills in the third set as Neumann retook the advantage. The Bloodhounds were within 3-4 points for the majority of the third frame, but were unable to create a run of successful attacks to push ahead. The Knights took a 2-1 set lead with a 25-19 third set.
The Bloodhounds pushed the match to a fifth set with another powerful performance by the attack, totaling 15 kills for the second time this match.
Trailing 18-20, the Bloodhounds regained control by the hands of Julia Stuart this time. The rookie scored two kills in a 5-0 run by John Jay to go up 23-18.
Neumann's error at the service line pushed the game to a fifth set as the Bloodhounds won the fourth frame, 25-23.
The Knights fell behind in the fifth set behind three errors in the opening stretch as the Bloodhounds went ahead 6-0. John Jay struggled to maintain its lead, committing five attack errors of its own in the abbreviated final set. The visitors battled back to win four consecutive match points after trailing 12-14, capped off by Gretener's second ace of the match.
Lewis's 23 kills and four total blocks in the five-set win are a season-high total for the junior.
NEXT UP: The Bloodhounds return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at CCNY, with the CUNYAC match set to begin at 7:00 p.m.
