New York, NY - The John Jay women's volleyball team hosted Wilkes University and Cairn University for a Saturday tri-match at The Doghouse, battling through six competitive sets before dropping both contests.
Wilkes 3, John Jay 0
The John Jay women's volleyball team opened Saturday's tri-match at The Doghouse with a 3-0 setback to Wilkes University. The Colonels (8-3) earned the straight-set victory by scores of 25-19, 25-11 and 25-21.
Two-time CUNYAC Player of the Week
Emilia Cascapera paced the Bloodhounds' attack with a match-high-tying 12 kills while adding two service aces and five digs.
Kynzie MacInnes finished with eight kills on a team-best .263 hitting percentage and contributed six digs, while two-time CUNYAC Rookie of the Week
Ansley Hobson totaled six kills, 11 assists and five digs.
John Jay came out strong in the opening set, scoring five of the first seven points. Cascapera delivered back-to-back kills before
Madison Mullan's service ace gave the Bloodhounds an early 5-2 advantage. Wilkes responded with five straight points to move ahead, 7-5.
The teams continued to battle through the middle stages of the frame before the Colonels created separation. Wilkes extended its lead to 20-13, but John Jay continued to fight. MacInnes recorded a kill and an ace during the closing stretch, while Cascapera added two more kills and
Kaia Mittauer served an ace as the Bloodhounds pulled within 23-19. Wilkes answered by scoring the final two points for a 25-19 opening-set victory.
Wilkes carried that momentum into the second set. After Hobson opened the frame with a kill, the Colonels answered with five consecutive points and eventually built a 9-2 advantage. John Jay attempted to chip away behind kills from Cascapera, MacInnes and Hobson, but Wilkes maintained control and closed the frame, 25-11.
The Bloodhounds responded with their strongest start of the afternoon in the third. John Jay scored the first three points, highlighted by a Mullan kill, and remained competitive throughout the set.
John Jay ultimately produced its best offensive set of the match in the third, recording 10 kills against five errors for a .167 hitting percentage. The Bloodhounds stayed within striking distance before Wilkes secured the 25-21 decision to complete the sweep.
John Jay finished with 33 kills, 29 assists, seven service aces and 31 digs. The Bloodhounds' seven aces surpassed Wilkes' six, but the Colonels held advantages in kills (38-33), digs (47-31) and blocks (5-2) while hitting .349 for the match compared to .107 for John Jay.
Caroline Guerney added nine assists and Mittauer finished with seven.
Lizbeth Martinez anchored the back row with a team-best eight digs, followed by MacInnes with six.
Cairn 3, John Jay 1
John Jay responded with an impressive start in the second match of the day, taking the opening set from Cairn, 25-20. The Bloodhounds came out firing offensively and established an early advantage. Consecutive service aces from Madison Mullan helped John Jay build a 7-2 lead before the hosts continued to create separation. John Jay stretched its advantage to 15-8 and later 19-10. Cairn made a late push to cut the deficit to 23-20, but Mullan delivered a kill before Kynzie MacInnes finished the frame with another kill to secure the 25-20 victory.
The Bloodhounds hit .333 in the opening set, recording 14 kills against just three attacking errors.
The second set developed into a back-and-forth battle. John Jay built an 18-14 advantage behind consecutive points from Ansley Hobson, but Cairn responded and eventually pulled even at 19-19. Neither side could create separation from there, with the score tied at 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22. Cairn ultimately scored the final three points, including a match-closing service ace, to take the frame, 25-22, and even the match at one set apiece.
John Jay again established the early momentum in the third. Mullan helped spark the Bloodhounds from the service line as John Jay built an 8-3 advantage. The hosts remained in control and stretched their lead to 15-9 following consecutive kills from Mullan. Cairn slowly worked its way back into the set. John Jay still held a 20-17 advantage before the Highlanders closed the frame with eight consecutive points, turning the three-point deficit into a 25-20 victory and taking a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Highlanders carried that momentum into the fourth set, jumping ahead 5-1 and later extending their advantage to 11-4. John Jay kept fighting and cut the margin to 14-10. Another Mullan ace later brought the Bloodhounds within 18-12, but Cairn responded by extending the lead to 23-14. The Bloodhounds made one final push. MacInnes delivered a kill before Audrey Atchley followed with a service ace, and Mullan added another kill as John Jay cut the margin to 24-18. Cairn answered on the next point to finish the set, 25-18, and close out the match.
MacInnes led the Bloodhounds offensively against Cairn with 11 kills while adding 12 digs. Hobson produced an all-around performance with 10 kills, a team-high 18 digs, six assists and two service aces.
Cascapera contributed nine kills and 12 digs, matching her career-best, while Mullan finished with six kills and a match-high six service aces. For the Saratoga Springs, NY native, the six aces match her career-best, as she totaled six in two prior matches last season. Kaia Mittauer handed out a team-best 14 assists and collected 10 digs, while Guerney added 10 assists. Newcomer Audrey Atchley finished with her first career ace and five digs.
As a team, John Jay finished with 43 kills, 41 assists, 75 digs and 14 service aces against Cairn. The Bloodhounds held advantages over the Highlanders in both digs (75-72) and aces (14-11), while Cairn finished with a narrow 46-43 edge in kills.
Marah Lehman paced Cairn with 20 kills on .400 hitting and added 18 digs. Bella Manthe recorded 11 kills, 12 assists and four service aces, while Liliana Magazzu registered a match-high 25 digs.
The defending two-time CUNYAC champions will embark on a nine-match road stint, beginning with the conference lidlifter on Tuesday, September 22 as they make the trek to Brooklyn College for a 6:00 p.m. first-serve.
