By Kevin Noonan, QBSN Chairman

In front of a raucous crowd at Burt Kahn Court, the Quinnipiac Bobcats women’s volleyball team couldn’t stave off the strong Providence Friars attack, losing the match 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-15).

It was all Providence (2-2) in the first and third sets when they did not trail by a single point in either set en route to their second victory of the season.

The Bobcats (0-5) kept the match close in the first two sets, but were defeated easily in the third set 25-15.

“They just never gave up, they kept swinging away they never got scared and I think that’s the biggest thing right now,” head coach Kristopher Czaplinski said.

Throughout the match, the Friars had a more dominant attack, totaling 42 kills compared to the Bobcats’ 27. Mackenzie Ziegler led Providence’s attack with a team-high 13 kills.

Freshman Allison Leigh (Palmer, Alaska) led the Bobcats in kills with 10.

Quinnipiac struggled against Providence and the Bobcats were overmatched despite a late second half comeback. Sophomore Chandler Thornton (Arlington, Texas) sparked a late second set rally that just fell short. Thornton had one of her seven kills to bring the Bobcats to 23-19 before three straight errors by the Friars tied things at 23.

But the Friars didn’t let it get to them, as they scored the next two points and won the set 25-23.

“We’re a young team right now and we’re fighting every point, that’s the biggest thing right now … there was a lot of communication on the floor, a lot of good things we saw but we just couldn’t pull it out,” Czaplinski said. “The Friars played really scrappy and they just had a faster offense than we did.”

Three service aces in the third set paved the momentum for the Friars as they picked up their largest set win of the match, winning 25-15. Ziegler picked up two service aces to lead the Friars.

Jordan Wiesler carried the offense to the win for Providence, racking up 32 assists to set up the powerful attack. Freshman Emma Ogden (Crown Point, Ind.) had 24 assists for the Bobcats as their offensive attack showed flashes of brilliance.

“As long as we can start working as a unit, that’s all I can ask for right now,” Czaplinski said. “It doesn’t matter about wins and losses; it matters about everyone playing as well as they can.”

The Bobcats have a week off before they head to Brooklyn, N.Y. to face the Saint Francis (N.Y.) Terriers.