Volleyball Authors Excellent Victory over Chatham in Home Opener

9/7/2022 9:45:00 PM | By: Jack Wymard, Staff Writer

The Blue Streaks swept the Cougars in a strong team effort to open the home slate.

Box Score UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS -- The John Carroll Volleyball team hosted Chatham University in the 2022 season home opener.

The Blue Streaks left no doubt, as the hosts beat the visiting Cougars 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-22).

JCU came out of the gates with a lot of confidence coming off wins against Lawrence University and University of Wisconsin-Superior as part of last weekend's tournament in Colorado.

John Carroll went up 3-2 to start the set and their lead did not change much throughout most of the set, as Chatham stayed right with the Blue Streaks early. Midway through the first set, John Carroll went up 15-12 for their biggest lead of the first set so far, so Chatham decided to call a timeout.

After the break the Blue Streaks – led by Payton Miozzi with 9 digs on defense and Ally Bartolone with 9 assists to generate the offense – went on a 6-0 run to take a 21-12 lead. The storyline of the latter part of set one was John Carroll's presence. The Blue Streaks led the Cougars .353 to .125 in hitting percentage for the first set. The Blue Streaks also secured 6 blocks early to establish their presence on defense.

John Carroll kept their confidence from the opener, as the Blue Streaks inaugurated the second set with a 6-1 lead. But Chatham went on a 5-0 run to tie it up 6-6. The score stayed close, as neither team was making many errors in the second set, but then Chatham went on a run to take their first lead of the night, 14-13. The lead for Chatham then increased to two (18-16) as Michele Benoit took her first timeout of the night.

The rest of the set was dictated by the Blue Streaks, as the Blue & Gold fired out to a 9-0 run to secure set two. Abigail Kirk showed out in the second set. providing a great net presence for the Blue Streaks, she finished the night with 8 kills to lead the team with Cassi Calamunci following with seven.

The Blue Streaks continued to dominate the net with a .313 hitting percentage compared to a .061 hitting percentage for the Cougars.

The Cougars opened up the third set with a different pace than the other two sets by taking a 6 point lead, their biggest of the night. JCU clawed back from the 9-3 deficit to tie the third set up at 11 with help from Cassi Calamunci at the net. Calamunci was a First Team All-OACs selection last year and snagged All-Tournament honors last weekend. The fifth-year star played a critical role down the stretch in anchoring the JCU frontline.

John Carroll fell behind 16-14 later in set three, but then scored 5 unanswered points to take a 19-16 lead over the Cougars. Chatham came out of a timeout with one last effort to win their first set of the night, as they tied it up at 22, but they could not keep up with John Carroll. The Blue Streaks went on a 3-0 run to win the final set 25-22.

In her debut, freshman Kendra Dziubinski had an impressive performance with 6 kills. Jessica Liddle and Jenn Follmer also played well with four apiece. Ally Bartolone provided a team-best 18 assists, with Maddie Maziarz contributing 13.

Calamunci also thrived in the backline with 14 digs. Lexi MacDonald topped the team with 22, while Payton Miozzi thrived with 17 digs.

John Carroll returns to action with a busy weekend, as a pair of matches awaits Saturday as part of the Bluffton Invitational.

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