EAST STROUDBURG, Pa. – The Pace University women's volleyball team completes its first weekend of play with a perfect 4-0 record after defeating East Stroudsburg University (ESU) and Bluefield State College on Saturday in the final day of the ESU Tournament.
RESULTS
Match 1:
Pace 3, East Stroudsburg 0 (28-26, 25-20, 25-14)
Match 2:
Pace 3, Bluefield State 1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-10, 25-23)
PACE 3, EAST STROUDSBURG 0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The match started off highly competitive, with Pace needing to win the first set, 28-26, to gain an early lead.
- The Setters found a rhythm in the second game, throwing down 15 kills to take a 25-20 win and go up, 2-0.
- Pace overmatched the tournament hosts in the third frame, outhitting the Warriors .259 to -.086, to run away with a 25-14 win and the match.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Pace hit .204 as a team, and held East Stroudsburg to a .080 clip.
- Sophomore
Claudia Fontanet (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) slammed 10 kills and added seven digs.
- Freshman
Tatjana Calimpong-Burke (Waianae, HI/Iolani) and junior
Sydney Lecker (Littleton, CO/Chatfield) each tallied eight kills. Calimpong-Burke added eight digs and a block, while Lecker recorded six digs and two service aces.
- Freshmen
Samantha Nidini (Houston, TX/Clearlake) and
Danielle Vaiano (Seaford, NY/St. Anthony's) did their jobs well with 28 assists and 21 digs, respectively.
- Sophomore
Kathleen Benson (Kings Park, NY/Kings Park) made three blocks and added seven kills.
PACE 3, BLUEFIELD STATE 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Setters and Blues played a closer match than the final line dictates.
- Both teams nearly hit evenly, with Pace taking a slight edge in hitting percentage, .164 to .162.
- Pace took the first set, 25-19.
- The Blues hit .400 to grab a 25-18 win in the second game.
- Pace turned up the heat and rolled to a 25-10 victory in the third set.
- A tight frame which saw the Blues make just one error still went the Setters' way with a close 25-23 win to close out the match.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Lecker and Fontanet each had another strong match. Both were even with a team-high nine kills, and had 15 and 11 digs, respectively. Lecker also added five aces.
- Nidini had another big match with 33 assists.
- Vaiano led the team with 20 digs.
- Benson made another pair of blocks to go along with six kills.
WHAT A WEEKEND
- Pace defeated all four of its opponents at the East Stroudsburg Tournament this weekend.
- The Setters won 12-of-13 sets in four matches.
- Big turnaround compared to 2015, when Pace started 0-5.
RECORDS
- Pace: 4-0
- East Stroudsburg: 2-1
- Bluefield State: 1-3
UP NEXT
- Pace will play in the Wildcat Regional Invitational, hosted by Wilmington University (Del.) from Friday, Sept. 9 to Saturday, Sept. 10.
- The Setters will take on Wilmington and Chestnut Hill on Friday at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
- Pace will play at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, starting with Holy Family University and concluding the tournament against Bloomfield College.
For all information regarding Pace University Women's Volleyball, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com and follow
Pace Volleyball on Facebook and Twitter (
@PaceVolleyball).
