HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. - The Sarah Lawrence women's volleyball team participated in a tri-match at Centenary University on Saturday, finishing the day 1-1 after a defeat to the hosting Cyclones and a dominant victory over Medgar Evers.

Top Performers

• Kaille Ferguson continued her strong season with 24 digs in the first match of the day
• Athena Kazos paced the Gryphons in kills throughout both contests
• Kazos, Raegan Lacombe and Carolyn Kelly all tallied five service aces against Medgar Evers

Game 1: Gryphons vs. Cyclones

The Gryphons fell behind early in the first set against the hosting Cyclones and they could not overcome the early deficit. Despite run-stopping kills by Kelly, Kazos and Mia Rector, Centenary would have an answer for every SLC score, keeping themselves comfortably ahead until they took the set 25-15.

Sarah Lawrence came out strong in the second set, with a block by Kelly putting the squad up 2-0 quickly. The two teams would trade points back-and-forth for a while, eventually finding themselves knotted up at 14 before Centenary would take four straight points, three of which came on kills by Poppy Skjonnemand. The Gryphons answered with two straight points but after a service error and a bad set, the hosts reclaimed their four-point lead. The Gryphons would take one more point to narrow the lead to three, but five straight points by the Cyclones would secure the set for the hosts, by a score of 25-17.

The third set showed promise for the Gryphons, taking three of the first four rallies to take a two-point lead. Another deadly scoring run by the Cyclones would squash any SLC momentum, as they took the next six points and asserted a four-point lead. After trading points, the Gryphons went on a scoring run of their own, taking five straight points and ten-of-twelve points to take a 16-11 lead and looked to force a fourth set. Despite the run, the Cyclones would make a comeback of their own, taking five-of-six points to narrow the lead to one point. Despite holding on to their lead, the Gryphons would be faced with another Cyclone scoring run, this time giving the hosting Cyclones a one-point lead by a total of 21-20. The Gryphons took two more points to regain the lead, but the final four points of the set would go the way of Centenary to take the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.


Game 2: Gryphons vs. Cougars

SLC took advantage of some Medgar Evers mistakes and used some key service aces to get ahead early and did not look back. The team jumped ahead 7-0 and continued to apply pressure, finding themselves up 19-2 and looking to be securely in charge of the set. The Gryphons would hold on throughout the remainder of the set, using a service ace from Ava Castro-Devarona and a kill by Ferguson to take the set 25-5.

The second set was much more competitive, as the two teams jockeyed for the lead for the majority of the set. Finding themselves tied at eight, the two teams would finally separate as the Gryphons took the next three points to grab a lead that they would narrowly hold onto for the remainder of the set. The Gryphons would take the final nine points of the set to take a 25-13 victory in the set and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set saw the Gryphons mirror their impressive start to the first set, jumping ahead 12-2 on the back of five Raegan Lacombe service aces. Carolyn Kelly would take notice, as she would follow suit a few rallies later and four of her five service aces in the match. A kill by Lacombe would round out the set and give the Gryphons a set victory 25-7 and a 3-0 match victory.


Up Next

The Gryphons (3-3, Skyline 1-0) will return to action on Wednesday, September 20th at the Campbell Sports Center against Old Westbury for their second Skyline matchup of the season. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. as the Gryphons look to keep their unblemished conference record intact.