ALLENTOWN, Pa. –
Emilia Cascapera delivered one of the most prolific attacking performances in John Jay women's volleyball history on Friday afternoon, powering the Bloodhounds to a four-set victory over Rutgers-Camden before John Jay closed the opening day of the Buttermaker Tournament with a loss to host Muhlenberg.
John Jay defeated Rutgers-Camden, 3-1 (26-28, 25-18, 25-22, 25-21), before falling to Muhlenberg, 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-16), at Memorial Hall. The Bloodhounds moved to 2-3 on the season following the split.
John Jay 3, Rutgers-Camden 1
After dropping an extended opening set, John Jay responded by winning three consecutive frames to secure its second victory of the season. Cascapera was the catalyst throughout, finishing with a career-high
29 kills on 53 attempts with only three errors, producing a blistering
.491 hitting percentage. Her 29 kills marked the
second-highest single-match total in program history since 2011.
She added 12 digs, two service aces and finished with a match-high 31 points.
After Rutgers-Camden edged John Jay, 28-26, in the opening set, the Bloodhounds controlled the remainder of the match. John Jay limited the Scarlet Raptors to six kills and a -.103 hitting percentage in the second set while recording 13 kills of its own to even the match with a 25-18 victory.
The Bloodhounds' offense found another gear in the third. John Jay hit
.324, collecting 15 kills against just four errors to take the set, 25-22.
John Jay remained efficient in the fourth, hitting .306 with another 15 kills while closing out the match, 25-21. The Bloodhounds finished with significant advantages in kills (57-40), assists (54-37), digs (67-62), blocks (11-9) and total points (73-55). John Jay hit .198 for the match while holding Rutgers-Camden to .039.
Ansley Hobson turned in a strong all-around effort with
10 kills, 26 assists, 12 digs, four blocks and two aces.
Kaia Mittauer added six kills, 20 assists, 10 digs and four blocks.
Madison Mullan anchored the front line with a match-high
seven blocks while adding six kills and hitting .267.
Lizbeth Martinez led the defensive effort with
22 digs and contributed six assists.
Muhlenberg 3, John Jay 0
John Jay returned to the court later Friday evening against tournament host Muhlenberg, which used an efficient offensive performance and strong service game to earn the straight-set victory.
The Mules hit .368 for the match and recorded 17 service aces.
Cascapera remained highly efficient despite the setback, producing
12 kills on 19 attempts with just three errors for a .474 hitting percentage. She added an ace and two blocks to finish with a team-high 15 points.
Hailey Waugaman contributed five kills while hitting .250 and added two blocks.
Caroline Guerney paced the offense with
12 assists while tying Martinez for the team lead with seven digs.
John Jay produced its best offensive set in the second frame, recording 10 kills and hitting .226, but Muhlenberg answered with 12 kills at a .323 clip to take the set, 25-19.
The Mules closed the match with another 12-kill set to secure the sweep.
For the day, Cascapera totaled
41 kills across seven sets, hitting a combined .486 with just six attacking errors on 72 attempts.
John Jay continues play at the Buttermaker Tournament on Saturday, September 12, with matches against Hood College at
10:00 a.m. and SUNY Morrisville at
12:00 p.m.
