ASTON, Pa. – The Cedar Crest College volleyball team lost a pair of matches to close play at the Knights Invitational, hosted by Neumann University. The Falcons were swept by the host Knights in the opening match of the day, 3-0, and then were defeated by Widner University

Match One – Neumann 3, Cedar Crest 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-18)

After the Knights went up 8-5 in the first set after a kill from senior Regan Hickey (Aston, Pa.), Cedar Crest strung together four straight points, finished off by a service ace from senior Rebekka Sanchez-Castro (Columbia, Md./Atholton) to make the score 9-8. The middle of the set stayed tight with neither team going up by more than two. With the score tied at 17, the Falcons got back-to-back kills from sophomore Ellise Everett (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) to go up a pair, 19-17. After extending the margin to three, 21-18, Neumann finished the set on a 7-2 run to take the frame by a 25-23 score.

The teams split the first 24 points of the second stanza, 12-12. The point to make it 12-all started a 9-0 run by the Knights as Neumann built an eight-point advantage, 20-12, capped off by a kill from senior Anna Mansel (Marlton, N.J.). Cedar Crest got as close as to within four, 21-17, but Neumann held off the Falcons to win the second set, 25-19.

The Knights began the final set on a 7-1 run, finished off by a kill from sophomore Lauren Garvey (Aston, Pa.). Neumann pushed the margin to as many as 11 after a kill from Hickey to make the score, 17-6. Cedar Crest closed the gap to five after a blocking error, which cut the deficit to 22-17, but the Knights won three of the last four points to capture the final frame, 25-18, and the match in straight sets.

Everett paced the Falcons with 10 kills and three blocks. Senior Ava Grapsy (Macungie, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic) finished with seven kills, 14 digs, and one service ace. Classmate Ziah Melton (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) chipped in four kills, one block, and one service ace. First-year Nikki Blair (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) dished out a team-high 20 assists while Sanchez-Castro turned in a match-high 24 digs.

Match Two – Widener 3, Cedar Crest 1 (26-28, 25-23, 25-20, 25-23)

The first set of match two was tight as the teams split the first 22 points, 11-11. Following a kill from junior Akashia Johnson (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic Institute) to make the score 12-11, Widener scored the next three points to grab a two-point advantage 14-12. Shortly after, Cedar Crest went on a 6-1 run to turn a one-point deficit into a three-point lead, 19-16. The Pride answered back with three straight points to knot the stanza at 19. Later in the set, with Widener up, 26-25, the Falcons won three straight points to capture the opening set, 28-26.

Cedar Crest started the second set on a 12-1 run, finished off by an attack error by junior Abigail Herrin (Ridley, Pa.). The Pride put together a long run of its own, stringing together 11 straight points to knot the set at 12. The run was finished off by a service ace by junior Isabella Ricevuto (Collegeville, Pa.). The next portion of the set remained close with neither team going up by more than one. With the Falcons up 19-18, Widener scored five straight points to make it 23-19. A late 4-1 run from the Falcons narrowed the deficit to one, 24-23, but a kill from senior Lilyanna Martucci (Williamstown, N.J.) gave the Pride the 25-23 second-set victory.

The teams split the first 20 points of the third set, 10-10, and then Cedar Crest used a 3-0 run to make the score 12-10. Later in the stanza, Widener used a 6-1 spurt to grab a three-point advantage, 18-15. With the score 18-17 in favor of the Pride, Widner embarked on a 6-1 run to build a six-point lead, 24-18. Back-to-back points by the Falcons, the second being a kill from Johnson, made the score 24-20, but a kill from Herrin finished off the set for Widener, 25-20.

The Pride began set number four with an 8-2 run. Widener maintained a seven-point lead until the middle of the stanza where Cedar Crest started to chip away. With the Pride up 21-15, Cedar Crest went on a 6-1 run to trim the deficit to one, 22-21. The Falcons got to within one right before the end of the set, but a kill from Herrin gave Widener the win in four sets.

Senior Maddison Minyo (Covington, Pa./North Penn-Mansfield) led the way with a double-double of 15 kills and 19 digs. Grapsy turned in a near triple-double of nine kills, 27 assists, and 12 digs. Melton had eight kills and two blocks. Sanchez-Castro guided the Falcon defense with a match-high 29 digs to go along with four assists and four service aces. Everett closed the match with a match-high six blocks to go along with six kills, and three digs. Blair finished with 18 assists to rank second on the team in the match.

Cedar Crest (4-5 overall) remains on the road and will travel to Gallaudet University on Friday, September 22 to take on the host Bison at 2:00 p.m. followed by DeSales University at 6:00 p.m.

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