The Quinnipiac Bobcats women’s volleyball team (2-22, 0-12 MAAC) kicked off a four game home stretch today against the Saint Peter’s Peacocks (6-15, 3-9 MAAC). The Bobcats have now lost 11 in a row and the Peacocks ended their five game losing streak.
Quinnipiac got off to a slow start, and were down from the very beginning. The senior outside hitter for the Peacocks, Dayanna Arrufat-Robinson was all over the Bobcats and her teammates continuously fed her the ball. The Bobcats were unable to find an answer, and they found themselves down 17-11.
Just when it looked like Saint Peter’s would walk away with the easy first set win, Quinnipiac went on a run of their own. They were able to let a few of the Peacocks serves sail out of bounds, come up with a few blocks, and they brought the score to 21-20.
Despite the burst of energy, Quinnipiac’s comeback attempt came up just shy, and they dropped the first set 25-23.
In opposition to the first set, Quinnipiac came out as the aggressor and took an early lead in the second set. They had a lot more energy than the Peacocks and it showed. However, Saint Peter’s didn’t plan on rolling over. They fought back just like the Bobcats did in the first set, and the score was once again 21-20.
The two sides battled hard for the entirety of the second set, and after some back-and-forth action, Saint Peter’s prevailed again by a score of 25-22.
Even though Saint Peter’s had a 2-0 lead, Quinnipiac didn’t give up. They started with high energy, and a new lineup. Bobcat coach Kristopher Czaplinski sent out senior Tierra Allen and freshman Nicole Milillo to start the third set and it helped propel them to a 10-6 lead.
Once again, the Peacocks found a way to match the Bobcats’ energy, and solve their lineup changes, and regain control of the match. Before long they were back in the driver’s seat by a score of 16-13.
The Bobcats continued to fight against the rising confidence of the Peacocks, but still trailed 23-21. Freshman Cheyenne Orsi forced a shot wide of the line, and appeared to cut the deficit to 1. However, the nearside referee ruled that sophomore outside hitter Katie Urycki deflected the ball.
A burst of rage from Urycki and the Bobcat’s bench followed the call, and it appeared to suck the rest of the life out of the gym. The Peacocks scored the next point to win the third set 25-21, and the match 3-0.
The Bobcats will try to bounce back on Sunday afternoon, when they take on Rider at Burt Kahn Court.
