CLAREMONT- The fifth-ranked Fall Mountain Wildcats volleyball team has now won their last five matche,s as they defeated the Cardinals in straight sets Monday night; 25-12, 25-9, 25-12.
The Cardinals started out strong in the first set as Tryanna Liolis was deadly with her serves in the early going. FM rode the hot serving hand of Amanda Hodgkins for 4 straight points to open up the close set and Makayla Barre added 4 more and suddenly FM was up 22-11 in the first set. The Cardinals Madison Aldrich grabbed a nice point but a kill from Elissa Brady kept the Cardinals chasing points. The left handed sophomore Rachel Watson closed out the first set for the Wildcats with her elusive serve.
The Cardinals’ sophomore Natalie Goss opened the second set with 4 straight points, and a strong kill from Madeline Ferland gave the Cardinals an early lead. Hannah McCormick erased that lead and more with 7 straight serves including 4 aces to put FM ahead 8-4. With the next few points riddled with unforced errors, Watson gained the serve back and rattled off 9 straight points to give FM a commanding 20-7 advantage. FM would breeze to a second set win as Brady served the final point.
“We played a strong and clean game today but Stevens played well and they opened up each set very strong tonight,” said FM head coach Michelle swift and added, “we didn’t get rattled and kept our composure.”
The final set started out the same as the first two as Goss and Ferland served the cardinals to a 7-3 lead. “I know that we can play better but it seems like when we fall behind, we lose our confidence and can’t seem to get it back,” said Goss after the match.
With the Wildcats Morgan Snelling serving, FM ran off 10 straight points to grab the lead 14-7. Once again it was the serving of Watson that seemed to confuse the Cardinals.
“The match went just as we hoped it would but I must admit that Stevens played well and they are a much better team that the score tonight indicated,” said Watson after the match. The final set ended with FM grabbing the win 25-12.
“I’m happy with the progress we are making and I still don’t think the girls know how close we are to getting over that hurdle,” said Stevens coach Kathryn Plouffe. “…with hard work and effort plus the realization that intensity and persistence will prevail… I’m going to be here for this team.”
With Monday’s win, Fall Mountain improves to 8-3 and will host Sunapee in the Den on Wednesday while the Cardinals will be looking to grab their first win of the season on Tuesday as they will welcome the 1-6 Hillsboro-Deering team. Liolis, who left the game with an ankle injury, still has high expectations for this team, saying, “I know we are so much better than last year and I see great progress… once we grab a pile of confidence, I think things will start to fall into place.”
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