BRONXVILLE, N.Y. — The Sarah Lawrence College women's volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday, October 3 at the Campbell Sports Center, falling to SUNY Morrisville in four sets before bouncing back with a 3-1 victory over Hunter College.
The Gryphons moved to 12-2 on the season following the split, with Sarah Lawrence overcoming a slow start against Hunter to close the day with a strong four-set victory.
Sarah Lawrence opened the day against Morrisville, falling 25-20, 19-25, 25-13, 25-22. The Gryphons answered a first-set loss by taking the second set behind 17 kills and a .256 team hitting percentage, but Morrisville regained control in the third and fourth sets.
Caroline Combs led the Gryphons with 19 kills and five service aces, while
Nikolet Vataj added 16 kills and 11 digs.
Sophia Costa finished with 35 assists, and
Kai Perkins anchored the defense with 19 digs.
Sarah Lawrence quickly turned the page in its afternoon matchup with Hunter.
The Gryphons dropped a tightly contested opening set, 31-29, but responded by winning the final three sets, 25-21, 25-15, 25-10, to secure the 3-1 victory. Sarah Lawrence finished the match with 57 kills while hitting .250 as a team, compared to a .131 mark for Hunter.
Combs powered the attack once again, delivering a season-high 26 kills while hitting .373. She also added 13 digs and two aces to finish with a team- and season-high 28.5 points.
Vataj contributed 14 kills and 15 digs, while Costa orchestrated the offense with 46 assists and added a career-high six service aces. Perkins posted a match-high 23 digs, giving her 42 digs across the two matches on Saturday.
Sarah Lawrence took control at the net as well, receiving three blocks apiece from
Charlee Leonard and
Jenna Lehnhart, while the Gryphons finished with 75 digs and 12 service aces as a team. Leonard also contributed a season-high 10 kills, while Lehnhart's three blocks were a season-high.
After Hunter pulled out the marathon first set, Sarah Lawrence steadily took control. The Gryphons hit .194 in the third set before closing the match emphatically in the fourth, hitting .333 while limiting Hunter to a .000 attack.
The split caps a stretch in which the Gryphons have won eight of their last nine matches, with their only setbacks during that span coming against Stevens and Morrisville. Sarah Lawrence now turns its attention to Skyline Conference play, heading to Mount Saint Vincent on Wednesday, October 6. First serve is at 6:00 p.m.
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