Coming off a hard-fought victory the day before against Saint Elizabeth University where they got the job done with only six players, The King's College Women's Volleyball team may have been excused if they were a bit tired for their match on Sunday against the Bay Path University Wildcats who made the trip down from Massachusetts. This seemed to be the case as Bay Path jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first set before taking leads of 12-6 and 14-8. King's begin to chip away at the deficit and but still found themselves trailing 18-15. But the Lady Lions went on a 5-1 run behind the serves of senior Ruby Anastacio to take a 20-19 lead. Bay Path battled back to come within 23-22, but two kills by King's sophomore Bella Rush ended the set for a 25-22 King's win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Wildcats would not give in so easily and again took a 2-0 lead in the second set. They extended their lead to 11-6 and 14-9 before the Lady Lions closed the gap to 15-14. But King's was never able to take the lead in the second set and ended up losing 25-17 with the match tied at 1-1.
That might've woken the Lions up as they raced out to an 11-2 lead in the third set much to the delight of the King's fans in attendance. The Lady Lions powered their way to a 22-7 lead behind the strong play of veteran leaders Samantha Klozik and Abby Roth. They nailed down a 25-11 third set win for a 2-1 lead in the match.
King's was again strong from the start of the set and took an 8-3 lead. Bay Path drew even at 8-8 before King's surged ahead 12-8 with Eliana Adler serving. Bay Path closed to within 15-13, but the Lady Lions seemed energized with the crowd behind them and went on another 8-2 run for a 23-15 lead. Eliana Adler's kill made it 24-19, Adler then ended the game with a service ace for a 25-19 win in the fourth set and a 3-1 match victory.
Bella Rush continued her strong all-around play with 15 kills, 6 aces, and 7 digs. Samantha Klozik showed her skill all over the court with 16 kills, 3 aces, 2 assists, and 15 digs. Eliana Adler had a kill, a service ace, and 3 digs. Junior Alex Kemsley notched a kill and a dig before injuring her ankle in the first set. Rachel Guerra had 6 kills and 1 dig, while Abby Roth set up 35 assists to go with a kill, 4 aces, and 12 digs. Freshman HaileyPaige Gilroy added 2 assists, 2 aces, and 8 digs.
The two victories this weekend improved the team's record to 5-2.
The Lady Lions have a busy week ahead with a trip to play Cheyney on Wednesday, a re-match against Pratt on Saturday, and a tri-match at Five Towns College with Nassau Community College.