Syracuse, N.Y.. – The Le Moyne College volleyball team hosted their Dig Pink match for breast cancer awareness on Saturday afternoon as they took on Central Connecticut State on Ted Grant Court. The Dolphins swept the match in three sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) to move to 4-17 overall with a 3-6 NEC record this season.
Le Moyne came out to a quick 8-4 lead in set one before the Blue Devils recorded five straight points to jump in front, 12-11, midway through. Two separate streaks of three-straight points provided the Dolphins with a four-point cushion at the 19-15 mark and they were able to hang on to take the first set, 25-22.
In set two, three early kills by sophomore outside hitter Denali Louden (Murrieta, C.A. / Murrieta Mesa) put Le Moyne ahead, 8-3, and three consecutive kills from sophomore outside hitter Nina Salas (Austin, T.X. / McNeil) later on, gave the squad a 16-9 lead. Four straight points late in the set gave Le Moyne all they needed to come away with a 25-19 set victory.
Set three opened with both teams going back-and-forth and remained that way until CCSU registered a service ace to tie the set at 18 points. Three kills by Salas and another two from junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School) in the final seven plays kept the Blue Devils down and earned Le Moyne the set and match win.
Salas led Le Moyne with 13 kills while Louden added another nine in the victory. Senior setter/DS Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) and sophomore setter Skylar Jehlen (Rochester, N.Y. / Churchville Chili) led the Dolphins in assists with 15 and 12, respectively, while Louden rounded out the offense with a team-high three service aces against CCSU.
Defensively, sophomore libero/DS Brooke Menke (St. Louis, M.O. / Visitation Academy) registered 12 digs to lead the squad just ahead of Louden who added 10 to the stat sheet. Senior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey / Ugur Okullari) and freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J. / Ramsey) each added one block solo in the match while Tasdelen also tallied a team-high two block assists in the win.
For the Blue Devils, Olivia Keckler led with eight kills while Anja Milosevic recorded a match-high 25 assists. Annabelle Denomme and Breanna Ginley tied for the team's lead with a pair of service aces each with Denomme also putting up nine digs on the defensive end. Ginley registered two block solos and Victoria Sanabria recorded three block assists to lead the squad.
What's Next:
The Dolphins will host FDU in their second meeting of the season at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
