Volleyball drops third straight NEC match-up

Volleyball drops third straight NEC match-up

By Angelique Fiske, QBSN Web Editor

The last time that the Quinnipiac volleyball team faced off against Sacred Heart on Oct. 9, it lost handedly, falling in three straight sets (25-11, 25-10, 25-9).  Things did not change much when the Bobcats were defeated by the Pioneers on Friday, again in three straight sets (25-16, 25-14, 25-13).  The loss makes for the third consecutive to a Northeast Conference opponent, with losses coming against Bryant and Central Connecticut on Oct. 29 and 30.  With the win, the Pioneers bump the Bobcats to an NEC record of 3-10 and an overall record of 4-22.

The first set for the Bobcats was slow coming out of the gate.  Sacred Heart showed offensive dominance with resilient blocks and 15 kills placed in the holes of the Quinnipiac court.

“We weren’t closing up our block real well.  It’s hard to set up your defense when there’s a hole in the block,” Sparks said.

After the first set, however, the defense “did a better job of closing the block,” said Sparks. 

Despite defensive troubles early on, sophomore Tracy Wright (Fair Lawn, N.J.) managed a team-high of 17 digs.

“Tracy played great,” Sparks said.  “I think they adjusted to try to hit way from Tracy in that third game.”

Sophomore Dianis Mercado led Sacred Heart with nine kills of her own.   Sophomore Olivia Grattan (Pittsburg, Pa) and senior Kelby Carey (Surfside, Calif.) led the team with five kills each on the day, but attacking errors proved to be costly for the Bobcats. They racked up 26 through the three sets.

“That’s a really, really good team, and we knew that going into it,” said head coach Robin Sparks.  “I would have liked to see us cut down on our unforced errors, but I think we were just on our heels from the start.  They really took it to us the first time we played them.  This time I think we played a little bit better, but still too many unforced errors.”

In spite of the score, the Bobcats never let mistakes get to them, keeping a positive focus to drive them through.

“We just have to get ready to move on.  That was our mode today,” Sparks said.  “After every play, just move on.  They’re going to hit some balls that are going to be unbelievable, but we just have to do the same back.”

Moving forward towards the end of the regular season, Quinnipiac has taken as many lessons as it can from this game.

“I think we did some things okay.  The big thing was just keeping the ball alive; quit trying to be too perfect,” Sparks said.  “Sacred Heart makes very few unforced errors, and that’s why they’ve been so successful this year.  They beat a lot of big teams this year because they don’t make many mistakes.  We have to learn to cut down those mistakes ourselves.”

The Bobcats are back in action against Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday at 2 p.m. for the team’s Senior Day.