The women’s volleyball team defeated Marywood University in straight sets, 3-0, in a CSAC match played at the Nerney Field House on Saturday, Oct. 8.
With the win, the Lady Cavs remain undefeated against CSAC opponents for the 2011 season.
Cabrini played two matches on Saturday, the first of which was a road contest against Eastern University. The team fell to Eastern in straight sets, ending their five-game winning streak. Despite the setback, the team returned home for the match against Marywood ready to return to their winning ways.
“Playing Eastern [Saturday] morning definitely helped us play better today,” Danielle Carrozza, junior outside hitter, said. “We have five more CSAC games and we’re really confident.”
The Lady Cavs’ overall record improved to 13-9 with the win. In addition to being undefeated against CSAC opponents, they are also a perfect 6-0 when playing at home.
This match was much closer than the score indicates. Despite taking the match in straight sets, Marywood challenged Cabrini in every set of the match.
In the first set, after jumping out to a 9-3 lead, Marywood trimmed the lead down to 16-15, before Cabrini rebounded to take the set, 25-19.
The second set lacked that kind of close drama but featured some tense moments. The Lady Cavs led the whole way but saw the set get closer as it progressed, with scores of 17-13 and 21-16 forcing them to keep focused. They were able to take the second set by a score of 25-18.
In the third and final set of the match, Cabrini once again held the lead the entire way and started to pull away as the win got closer. After storming out to a 9-2 lead, the Lady Cavs boosted that lead to 17-8, before pulling away in the closing stages to win the deciding set by a score of 25-14.
Throughout the match, the Cavaliers showed very strong net presence and kept many balls that looked unplayable off the ground, giving them many second chances for points.
“We have a lot of hitters that can swing hard against the block,” Carrozza said. “We just put everything that we have at practice into the games and it usually works out for us.”
Another attribute of their net presence was the powerful shots of the front line. For much of the match, Cabrini overpowered Marywood’s defense with great shots, but also knew when to put just enough on the ball to get it to fall on Marywood’s side of the court.
For much of the match, the Lady Cavs showed how great teams find a way to work together. Constant communication was the key to yet another Cabrini win, as the Lady Cavs were vocal for the whole match.
“We have to keep up the intensity and hustle and communicate,” Meg Ryan, junior opposite-side hitter, said. “We just have fun. We try not to be too serious.”
Before playing their doubleheader matches, Cabrini had been idle for over a week, with their last match being a 3-1 win over Neumann University on Sept. 29.
Cabrini’s successful run has them working toward yet another CSAC title. After winning titles in 2009 and 2010, the team is setting their sights on yet another championship.
“We want home-court advantage during the playoffs,” fifth-year head coach Eric Schaefer said. “We’ve got to keep taking care of business during the season.”
