With an opportunity to clinch a first-round bye in the MAAC tournament, the Quinnipiac Bobcats could not beat the Marist Red Foxes on Saturday, falling three sets to one. This loss became Quinnipiac’s first home loss of the season and would have been the Bobcats’ first bye in the MAAC tournament since 2016.
Towards the end of the first set, Quinnipiac went on a three-kill run to bring the score to 22-17. They were unable to storm back in the set, as Marist regrouped during a timeout and closed out the set.
The second set was even closer with the Bobcats taking their first multi-point lead when they went up 21-19. Quinnipiac was able to tie the match at one set apiece but things began to collapse during the beginning of the third set.
Quinnipiac’s Head Coach Kyle Robinson didn’t think the team executed with their passing on Saturday.
“I think they’re really good passers,” Robinson said. “They didn’t have a great day. I don’t expect us to have to change anything or we’re not going to sit up all night thinking about how we’re going to pass better… It was mediocre today. So I just don’t expect it to be mediocre tomorrow or if it is, this same thing could happen.”
During the third set, the Bobcats and Red Foxes played a back-and-forth game the entire set, until Marist pulled away from a 19-19 tie by winning four points in a row. Outside hitter Sasha van der Merwe recorded a block and kill during the streak. Van der Merwe scored 25 kills during the game, becoming the fourth time this season Merwe tallied more than 20 kills in a game.
Robinson thought the team could have limited the chances van der Merwe received.
“We set up a really elementary game but we also didn’t block well,” Robinson said. “In my opinion, she [van der Merwe] should be one of the easier players to block because she doesn’t generally play with much range.”
Throughout the game, the Bobcats were able to keep each set close, losing the last set by only six points.
After defeating the Bobcats on the road, the Red Foxes clinched a spot in the MAAC tournament. This is the third year in a row that Marist has made the tournament.
Quinnipiac won their first matchup against Marist 3-2 on the road earlier this season and now will enter the tournament with the season series split. Although Saturday’s game had a lot at stake for Quinnipiac, Robinson hopes that the playoff implications won’t continue to affect the team’s success.
“If we weren’t good servers and good passers, then I’d probably be worried,” Robinson said. “ I think there were a lot of girls in the gym worried about the outcome of today instead of focusing on doing their job well. Which is insane. Why should you worry about the future when you’re not dealing with the present? Getting what we talked about today? So I don’t foresee that being an issue
Quinnipiac will now rebound against the Siena Saints on Sunday. Quinnipiac defeated Siena three sets to one on the road earlier in the season and have two road games left in the regular season.
