On Nov. 1, Elizabethtown College’s women’s volleyball took on both Goucher College and DeSales University in a tri-match with the hope to punch their ticket into the playoffs with a win against the Gophers. The match against DeSales had no impact on their playoff positioning, however, would be an important game to improve their record heading into the postseason.
For their penultimate campaign of the regular season, the Etown women’s volleyball squad celebrated Lucy Stern, Angela Ouimet and Kate Barron for the senior day tri-match. The match versus Goucher was the determining factor in who would claim the sixth seed for the conference playoffs, Elizabethtown or Drew College.
Going into the match, the Goucher Gophers were 1-8 against Landmark Conference competition, with the Etown Blue Jays being 3-6 against conference competition. Both teams lost 0-3 to the number one seed in the conference, the Juniata Eagles. The Eagles have taken the Landmark Championship for the past three season, cementing their place at the top as a feared team within the conference.
The game started strong for the Jays after Barbon and sophomore Bailey McFeaters put up three kills in a row to give Etown a lead of 9-6. Sophomore Lucy Stanek would combine kills with sophomores Ida Fisher and Marah Glenn for the final three kills of set one, giving Etown the win in 25-16.
Etown kept the momentum going in the second set, propelling themselves ahead of Goucher 8-4 with credit to sophomore Emma Rizzutto’s three straight aces. To continue the straight scoring, the Lady Jays rattled off six straight points, gapping their lead 14-7. In the end, it would be Barbon’s kill that solidified the win of the second set 25-13.
The final set saw the Gophers pull ahead for a 9-4 early lead. However, this didn’t stop Etown. With two kills and an ace from freshman Claire Erdman, the score got closer at 8-11. With five points in a row and several Gopher errors, the Lady Jays clinched their championship berth with a win in set three 25-18. Stanek earned a double-double in the match with 12 kills and 12 digs.
In match two versus the DeSales Bulldogs, it was a closer one, with Etown winning in 3-2 fashion. It was a back and forth match, with Etown winning the first two sets and DeSales winning the next two. It would come down to the final match to decide the winner.
Throughout the sets, Stanek recorded another double-double, this time with 16 kills and 21 digs. Alongside that, McFeaters totaled 13 kills and Barbon scored 12. Ouimet saw a career-high 44 assists while Stern saw a career-high 31 digs.
The Blue Jays had a comfortable win in set one, winning 25-14. In set two, the Bulldogs came within one point at the halfway mark, tallying 12-11. After trading points throughout the rest of the set, Etown came out on top 25-23.
After losing the next two sets 21-25 and 22-25, the match saw a fifth set. With the help of two Bulldog errors, the Blue Jays were able to keep the lead. Stanek ended the set with two kills, giving Etown the win.
The Lady Jays have one more tri-match on the slate before Landmark Conference competition begins against Catholic University in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 11.
