Mahwah, NJ – The John Jay College women's volleyball team opened Thursday evening's non-conference matchup with a dominant first-set performance, but host Ramapo College rallied to take the next three frames as the Bloodhounds fell, 3-1 (25-13, 18-25, 19-25, 21-25), at the Bradley Center.
With the setback, John Jay moves to 4-12 overall (1-1 CUNYAC), while the Roadrunners improve to 8-6 (2-1 NJAC).
Despite the result, the Bloodhounds held advantages in several statistical categories, finishing with more kills (37-36), service aces (15-5), total blocks (7-4) and assists (34-32).
Emilia Cascapera paced the John Jay offense with a match-high 14 kills while delivering six service aces and seven digs. The sophomore finished with a team-leading 20.0 points.
Ansley Hobson provided an immediate spark, recording six kills on nine attempts without an error for a match-best .667 hitting percentage. She added two service aces and four digs in one set of action.
Madison Mullan contributed five kills, three service aces and three total blocks, including two solo rejections.
Kynzie MacInnes chipped in five kills, two aces and three digs, while
Hailey Waugaman registered four kills, two aces and six digs.
Defensively,
Shamyra Herrera anchored the Bloodhounds at the net with four total blocks, including two solo stops.
Lizbeth Martinez led the team with eight digs, while
Caroline Guerney and
Kaia Mittauer dished out 14 assists apiece.
John Jay came out firing in the opening set, showcasing an efficient offensive attack and aggressive serving to take control early.
After the teams traded points to a 4-4 deadlock, the Bloodhounds used a 7-1 surge to build an 11-5 advantage. Cascapera sparked the run with a service ace, while Hobson contributed two kills and two aces to help John Jay seize momentum.
Leading 13-8, the Bloodhounds extended their advantage with four consecutive points, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Hobson, pushing the lead to 17-8.
Cascapera then took over at the service line, delivering consecutive aces as part of another scoring run that stretched the John Jay advantage to 23-11.
The Bloodhounds closed out the frame, 25-13, hitting an impressive .333 with 11 kills against just three errors on 24 attempts. John Jay also held Ramapo to a negative .040 hitting percentage in the opening stanza.
The Roadrunners responded in the second set, jumping out to an early 10-5 lead before extending their advantage to 17-8. John Jay attempted to climb back into the frame behind a kill from Cascapera and a service ace, trimming the deficit to 18-14. Ramapo answered with four straight points to push its lead to 22-15. The Bloodhounds scored three more points down the stretch, including a kill from Mullan, but Ramapo secured the 25-18 victory to even the match at one set apiece.
In the third frame, the teams exchanged points early before the Roadrunners established a 12-8 advantage. John Jay battled back, using kills from Cascapera and MacInnes along with a Waugaman service ace to pull within 15-13. The Bloodhounds continued to chip away, eventually drawing even at 17-17 following a Cascapera service ace. MacInnes later registered a kill to tie the frame again at 18-18.
Ramapo, however, responded with six consecutive points to reach set point at 24-18. John Jay briefly extended the frame before the Roadrunners closed out the 25-19 decision to take a 2-1 match lead.
After falling behind 12-8 in the fourth set, the Bloodhounds used a strong serving stretch from Mullan to seize a 15-13 advantage. The run featured three consecutive service aces from Mullan, giving John Jay its first lead since the early stages of the frame.
The teams continued to exchange points, with kills from Herrera and Mullan keeping the Bloodhounds in front before Ramapo tied the score at 18-18. A Mullan kill followed by a solo block pushed John Jay ahead, 20-19, but the Roadrunners answered with two consecutive points to reclaim the lead.
John Jay tied the frame once more at 21-21 following a Ramapo attack error, but the hosts scored the final four points to secure the 25-21 victory and complete the four-set comeback.
John Jay finished the evening with 37 kills on 122 attempts, hitting .074 as a team, while Ramapo registered 36 kills on 105 swings for a .152 hitting percentage.
For Ramapo, Asya Akar and Cass Chauhan shared the team lead with nine kills each, while Valentina Palen added eight. Aubrey Agcaoili directed the offense with 27 assists and 10 digs, while Emma Garcia finished with a match-high 17 digs.
The Bloodhounds will close out their lengthy road swing on Saturday, as they head to Newark, NJ for the Rutgers-Newark Tri-Match as John Jay will take on Rutgers-Newark at 11:00 a.m. before tangling with Marywood at 1:00 p.m.
