Wilkes-Barre, PA - The John Jay women's volleyball team captured the opening set and pushed King's (Pa.) to extra points in the third before falling to the Monarchs, 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 26-28, 13-25), on Saturday afternoon at Scandlon Gym.
The Bloodhounds move to 4-11 overall while King's improves to 11-4.
Madison Mullan turned in a strong performance for John Jay, finishing with 11 kills on .273 hitting while adding eight digs, four total blocks and an ace for a team-high 15 points.
Emilia Cascapera matched Mullan with 11 kills and added eight digs, three aces and a block assist.
Ansley Hobson contributed across the stat sheet with eight kills, a team-high 17 assists, five digs and three total blocks.
Kynzie MacInnes registered six kills, 14 digs and a match-high five service aces, while
Lizbeth Martinez anchored the defense with a team-best 19 digs and three aces.
John Jay came out strong in the opening set. With the score tied at 1-1, MacInnes delivered back-to-back service aces as the Bloodhounds opened a 5-1 advantage. Mullan helped John Jay maintain the lead with several key kills as the Bloodhounds eventually stretched the margin to 16-12.
King's pulled within 18-17 late in the frame, but John Jay answered. The Bloodhounds scored seven of the final nine points, with MacInnes closing out the set with consecutive aces to give John Jay the 25-19 victory.
The Monarchs responded in the second, racing out to a 5-1 advantage. John Jay battled back and eventually tied the set at 7-7 before the teams continued to trade points. The Bloodhounds remained within striking distance at 15-15, but King's created separation down the stretch and took the frame, 25-20, to even the match at one set apiece.
The third proved to be the closest set of the afternoon. John Jay established an early 4-1 advantage before King's answered to even the score. The Bloodhounds later used a strong service stretch to take a 17-12 lead, highlighted by aces from Cascapera, Martinez and
Kaia Mittauer.
King's responded with seven consecutive points to move ahead, 19-17, but John Jay refused to go away. Trailing 20-18, the Bloodhounds rattled off five straight points to regain a 23-20 advantage. King's fought back again and the teams exchanged points deep into extra play. A MacInnes kill put John Jay ahead, 26-25, but the Monarchs answered with the final three points to escape with a 28-26 victory and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
King's carried that momentum into the fourth set, using an early run to build a 9-1 advantage. John Jay attempted to chip away at the deficit, with Cascapera contributing an ace and MacInnes adding a block during the frame, but the Monarchs maintained control and closed out the match with a 25-13 win.
Both teams finished with 42 kills and eight total blocks, but King's held the advantage in hitting percentage, .147 to .046, and digs, 64-57. John Jay held a significant advantage from the service line, finishing with 13 aces compared with six for the Monarchs.
For King's, Hannah Swinsburg and Bella Boylan each recorded a match-high 14 kills. Swinsburg hit .448, while Boylan added eight digs. Ariela Towsey directed the Monarch offense with 37 assists and four total blocks, while Riley McArdle collected a match-high 20 digs. Weronika Malinowski added six kills, 17 digs and four aces.
The Bloodhounds will continue its road voyage on Thursday, October 8 as they will head to Mahwah, NJ to tangle with the Ramapo College Roadrunners.
First serve is set for 6:00 p.m.
