ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College volleyball was defeated by visiting Gallaudet University, 3-1, in the United East Conference Tournament championship match on Saturday afternoon at Lees Gymnasium. Prior to the match, senior Rebekka-Sanchez-Castro received the Elite 20 Award, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average of the competing athletes.
The Bison won by set scores of 25-22, 19-25, 27-25, and 31-29.
Gallaudet got out to a 16-10 lead in the opening set after a Falcons' service error and a kill from Cassidy Perry. Cedar Crest scored five of the next six points to pull within two, 17-15. The Bison answered back with a mini-run of 5-1 to extend the margin back to six, 22-16. Cedar Crest came back with a 6-2 spurt to trim the lead to two, 24-22, but a kill from senior Natalie Clayberg (Pella, Iowa) gave the Bison the first set, 25-22.
Following a service error by the Falcons to make the score 10-8 in the second stanza, Cedar Crest strung together an 8-3 run to grab the 16-13 advantage. Gallaudet cut the deficit to one, 16-15, but the Falcons finished on a 9-4 to even the match at a set apiece.
Cedar Crest doubled up the Bison in the early stages of set three, 8-4, following a kill by junior
Alexis Cummins (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge). Later in the frame, with the Falcons leading 8-6, Cedar Crest extended its lead to six thanks to a 5-1 run, capped off by a kill by senior
Ava Grapsy (Macungie, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) to make the score 13-7. Gallaudet answered back with an 8-2 spurt to tie the score at 15. The remainder of the set was tight. With the Bison ahead 18-17, the Falcons went onto score five of the next six points to push the score to 22-19. After a block by sophomore
Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) to put Cedar Crest up, 24-23, Gallaudet closed on a 4-1 run to take the frame by a 27-25 score.
The Bison held a 12-9 advantage in the fourth set. After the Falcons cut it to one, 12-11, Gallaudet used a 5-1 spurt to push the lead to five, 17-12. Cedar Crest went on a run of its own of 7-1 to move ahead by one, 19-18, following a kill from senior
Maddison Minyo (Covington, Pa./North Penn-Mansfield). After the visitors regained the lead, 20-19, the Falcons scored five-straight points, capped off by a service ace by Minyo to make the score 24-20. Gallaudet scored five of the next six points to tie it at 25-all. The Falcons would grab a one-point advantage 29-28 after a kill from Minyo, but the Bison notched three straight points to win the set, 31-29, and win the match.
Minyo paced Cedar Crest with 18 kills, 14 digs, one service ace, and one assist. Grapsy followed with 12 kills, 19 assists, six blocks, 10 digs, and a service ace. Everett registered eight kills, 10 blocks, one dig, and one assist. First-year
Nikki Blair (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) tallied 21 assists, eight digs, and two kills. Sanchez-Castro guided the Falcons' defense with 21 digs to go along with five assists, one service ace, and a kill.
Clayberg was recognized as the Tournament MVP with a performance of 22 kills, two assists, two service aces, three blocks, and 16 digs.
The loss ends the season for Cedar Crest (16-9 overall). Gallaudet (31-3 overall) will receive the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament. The tournament field will be announced on Monday.
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