By Matthew Colucci, QBSN Staff Writer
The Quinnipiac Bobcats (4-13) won their second straight MAAC match against the Saint Peter’s Peacocks (3-16) on Sunday. The Bobcats played with energy and a strong team effort that led to a 3-1 victory.
Quinnipiac started the match off with a wave of energy, led by freshmen Allison Leigh (Palmer, Alaska) and Emma Ogden (Crown Point, Ind.). The Bobcats jumped out to a 9-1 lead and were able to fight back the attempts of runs led by sophomore right hitter Lauren Behrens.
Saint Peter’s first-year coach Andrew Brown was charged with a yellow card deep into the first set, as the senior libero for the Bobcats, Logan Riker (Bowling Green, Ohio) carried her team to a 25-21 first set victory.
Saint Peter’s came out with a load of energy that overpowered Quinnipiac. It kicked off the second set with an 11-2 run, and Quinnipiac was able to bring the score to 19-16 behind a flurry of blocks and kills from Leigh, but the Peacocks were able to withstand the Bobcats’ surge, as they won the second set 25-20.
After the third set, Quinnipiac head coach Kristopher Czaplinski shared some simple yet effective motivation with his team.
“Have fun,” he said. “We’ve lost the fun factor today; we had it yesterday, but today we aren’t enjoying ourselves.”
Freshman outside hitter Katie Urycki (Chesterton, Ind.) took his advice to heart as she elevated her game to a whole new level. Urycki hit Saint Peter’s with a barrage of kills that resulted in eight straight points, which ultimately led the Bobcats to a 25-23 third set triumph.
Freshman right hitter Jamie Paolucci (Lake Mary, Fla.) sat out the entire third set, but she was on top of her game and in the fourth set and was able to bring her skills to the table. Paolucci and the Bobcats put their team strength and chemistry on display, as they won hustle point after hustle point. Ogden was able to keep two balls in play that were 15 feet past the boundaries of the court, both of which led to Quinnipiac points after lengthy rallies.
Saint Peter’s senior libero Jenny Pliska (Portland, Ore.) helped the Peacocks put together an excellent counter-attack, and they finally regained the lead over Quinnipiac, 24-23. Just as the Peacocks thought they were going to extend the match to the fifth set, Urycki leaped and buried the ball into the ground for a final time to give Quinnipiac a 29-27 set win and the overall match victory.
“Katie [Urycki] was unstoppable today,” Czaplinski said. “She had two or three blocks, was all over the court, and she found the open spaces.”
Urycki finished with a game-high 17 kills and Ogden continued her streak of excellent performances as she tallied 36 assists and two blocks.
The Bobcats will look to make it three wins in a row as they continue their home stand on Wednesday against the Siena Saints (6-10), who currently stand tied as the best team in the MAAC.
