UNION, N.J. - The Sarah Lawrence women's volleyball team split their season-ending tri-match on Saturday, taking the hosting Kean Cougars to four sets before sweeping the Beavers of CCNY to wrap up the regular season. Senior
Athena Kazos registered her 1,000th career dig in the team's win over CCNY, making her the first player in program history to break the 1,000-mark in both kills and digs. The Gryphons will now look ahead to Tuesday night's Skyline First Round matchup in Farmingdale, N.Y. with the hosting Rams of Farmingdale State College.
Notable Performers
How it Happened
Kean took the opening two sets 25-11 and 25-12, using consistent serving and balanced attacking to build early leads. The Gryphons battled throughout, highlighted by kills from Olivia Richard and Vataj in the first frame and defensive efforts from Milly Guemple in the back row. In the second set, Iceton and Brynn Beck provided sparks at the net, while Carolyn Kelly added key points as Sarah Lawrence worked to slow Kean's momentum. The Gryphons' best stretch came in the third set, where they pushed Kean deep into the frame before taking a 25-23 win. SLC used an early serving run from Kazos and a series of kills by Iceton, Vataj and Kelly. Nash ran an effective offense throughout the set, keeping the Gryphons in rhythm before Kean edged out the final points.
The Gryphons shook off an early service error to take full control with a 6-0 run, led by Nikolet Vataj and Olivia Richard, who combined for back-to-back blocks and multiple kills off sets from Nash. The momentum only built from there, as Eva Anderson entered the game and delivered an immediate spark, assisting on two straight kills by Vataj, then adding a service ace as SLC extended the lead to 14–2. The Gryphons' offense continued to click through the middle portion of the set, with Kelly and Beck joining the scoring on a string of well-placed assists from Nash. Iceton came in to add late offense with two kills down the stretch, while Kelly recorded both a kill and an ace to push the lead past 20. After a brief CCNY rally, Richard closed the frame with a kill before Nash capped the set with a service ace to seal the 25-11 victory. After trading early points in the second set, the Gryphons settled in.A pair of kills from Eve Iceton tied the set at 7-7 before Sarah Lawrence surged ahead on a 5–0 run fueled by Kazos's serving and back-to-back attack errors by CCNY. Kelly added a service ace and a clean swing to extend the lead, while Beck and Kelly combined for a block that helped force a timeout from CCNY at 15-10. Out of the break, Nash set up Beck for a kill before Richard and Vataj connected on consecutive plays at the net, keeping the Gryphons in full control. Iceton added another kill off a Nash assist to make it 22-12, and after a final CCNY error, Beck sealed the set with a decisive kill. The Gryphons had to battle through an early deficit in the third set, as CCNY opened with a 4–0 run before kills from Vataj and Kelly steadied the offense. Midway through the frame, back-to-back kills from Iceton and a service ace from Nash gave the Gryphons their first lead at 12-11. Nash added another ace moments later, and Athena Kazos followed with one of her own as Sarah Lawrence pulled ahead 16-13. Vataj continued to be unstoppable at the net, hammering three kills in the final stretch while Anderson's aggressive serving helped extend the advantage to 21-15. After a brief run by the Beavers, an error at the service line gave the Gryphons a three-set victory.
Up Next
The Gryphons (13-13, Skyline 7-4) will return to action on Tuesday, November 11th as they head to Farmingdale State College for a Skyline First Round matchup with the Rams. This marks the third consecutive first-round matchup between the schools, with the previous two matchups both going to five sets.
Â
