SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Led by a career-best performance in the middle by sophomore
Kathleen Benson (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park), the No. 8-seeded Pace University women's volleyball team took down the 2016 Northeast-10 Conference Championship Tournament's top seed Le Moyne College in four sets Tuesday evening at Le Moyne's Ted Grant Court in the NE-10 Championship Quarterfinals. With the win, the Setters advance to NE-10 Championship Weekend, which will be hosted by No. 2 American International College (AIC) in Springfield, Mass., where Pace will take on No. 5 Adelphi University Friday evening.
RESULTS
Pace 3, Le Moyne 1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22)
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1
- The Setters got off the bus fired up and never trailed in the first set.
- An early 4-1 lead turned into a 10-5 advantage and then a 15-9 edge as seemingly everyone on the floor chipped in.
- The Setters led by as many as eight in the game before the Dolphins got it back within five after a 4-1 run.
- Pace halted the run with three straight points, including a pair of kills by Benson, to make it 23-15.
- Benson tallied the final two points on kills to cap off a convincing 25-17 win in the opening frame.
SET 2
- The NE-10 Regular Season Champions swung momentum back in their favor in the second set.
- Back-and-forth play saw the Setters take a narrow 8-6 lead in the early goings.
- The Dolphins then went on a 6-0 run to claim a 12-8 advantage.
- The home team kept a steady pace before a five-point run made it 24-16 and forced set point.
- The Setters fought it off with back-to-back kills from sophomore
Claudia Fontanet (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) and Benson, but a service error ended the game and saw Le Moyne tie the match at one.
SET 3
- The momentum stayed with Le Moyne early in the third set, and a three-point stretch gave the Dolphins a 16-11 advantage.
- After the Dolphins took a 19-14 lead, the Setters turned the tables, rattling off five straight points to tie it up at 19-19 and force Le Moyne to use a timeout.
- The Setters then took the lead back after an error by Le Moyne's Jacquelyne Ghindia, but Ghindia made up for it with a kill on the next point to tie it up at 20-20.
- The Setters then ran off four points in a row, capped off by back-to-back kills from Fontanet, and eventually got one final point from Benson to take a 25-21 win and a 2-1 lead in the quarterfinal match.
SET 4
- Both teams traded the first four points, but the Setters worked into a rhythm and took the next five, aided by a pair of kills by freshman
Tatjana Calimpong-Burke (Waianae, HI/Iolani), to grab a 7-2 lead.
- The Setters kept their distance, but the Dolphins got back within three at 15-12.
- Pace then went on a 4-0 run to make it a 19-12 lead and put the NE-10's top seed on its heels.
- Freshman
Danielle Vaiano (Seaford, NY/St. Anthony's) set junior
Sydney Lecker (Littleton, CO/Chatfield) for back-to-back kills after a block by Calimpong-Burke to help Pace take a commanding 23-14 lead, and junior
Colette Clarke (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) later forced match point with a kill that made it 24-15.
- The Dolphins then showed a glimpse of why they entered the tournament as the No. 1-seed, fighting back with seven straight points while facing match point to get back within two at 24-22.
- Fontanet said no more, slamming down one final kill to end the match and start the celebration for the Setters.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Benson threw down a career-high 18 kills and hit .333 to help lift the Setters to the quarterfinal win. She also led the floor with five total blocks.
- Freshman
Samantha Nidini (Houston, TX/Clearlake) had a big night, dishing out 45 assists and picking up 21 digs for a double-double. She also assisted a pair of blocks.
- Vaiano kept up a stellar rookie campaign with another 30 digs, adding five assists and an ace as well.
- Fontanet produced her 22nd double-double of the year with 11 kills and 20 digs in the win, also serving up a pair of aces.
- Lecker added 12 kills, five digs and a block in the victory.
- Senior
Samantha Marquez (Palmetto Bay, FL/Miami Palmetto/Palm Beach State College) picked up 14 digs.
LE MOYNE LEADERS
- Jessica Miller registered a match-high 21 kills for the Dolphins, as well as three blocks.
- Natalie Casson had a double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs.
- Kendall Corcoran passed out a match-best 51 assists and added 10 digs.
- Mikayla Porr picked up a match-high 34 digs.
RECORDS
- No. 8 Pace: 23-8
- No. 1 Le Moyne: 22-6
NE-10 CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND
- The No. 8 Setters advance to face off with defending NE-10 Champion Adelphi on Friday, Nov. 18, in the NE-10 Championship Semifinals. A start time has yet to be announced.
- No. 2 AIC earned hosting duties with its victory over No. 7 Bentley University on Tuesday, and will take on No. 3 New Haven, which defeated No. 6 Franklin Pierce.
- The winners of the two semifinal matches on Friday will face off on Saturday, Nov. 19, in the championship match.
For all information regarding Pace University Women's Volleyball, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow
Pace Volleyball on Facebook and Twitter (
@PaceVolleyball).
