BENNINGTON, Vt. – In the two sides' second meeting of the year, SUNY Cobleskill took to a 3-0 non-conference women's volleyball win at Southern Vermont College's Mountaineer Athletic Center Thursday evening to sweep the season series.
The Fighting Tigers won the night with straight-set scores of 25-20, 25-17, and 25-23.
Southern Vermont (3-14) now gears up for a home tri-match on Saturday, first playing Daniel Webster College in a 12 p.m. New England Collegiate Conference contest before taking on Green Mountain College around 4 p.m. Cobleskill (7-14) is off until next Wednesday, resuming the schedule with a 7 p.m. non-conference tilt at home against Castleton University.
The Fighting Tigers have now taken the last three-straight contests between the two programs, grabbing a 6-3 upper hand in the all-time series.
SVC freshman Sarah Billow (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) tallied a team-high seven kills to go with her six digs and two service aces, and Bennington College freshman Gaby Oropeza (Riverside, Calif.) had another five kills, 10 digs and two assists for the hosts. Mountaineer sophomore Lizzy Bench (St. Petersburg, Fla.) tied the match-high of 12 digs while senior captain Brin Goldman (St. Croix, Virgin Islands) had six digs, three kills and 13 assists in the effort. Freshman Tay Phillips (Stephentown, N.Y.) recorded nine digs and a pair of assists on the night.
Billow served for four-straight points early on in the opening set as Southern Vermont grabbed a 4-1 lead, but the Fighting Tigers were able to inch back and go up 7-6 after taking three in-a-row. The teams traded service before Cobleskill won seven of the next eight to go in front by six. SVC rallied off four-straight to get within a pair, and a kill by Oropeza followed by a Bench service ace helped tie the set at 17-17. The Fighting Tigers got the next three points before kills by Oropeza, Phillips and Billow made it just a 20-21 visitors' edge. Cobleskill would hold of the Mountaineers the rest of the way, however, as it won the next four to close out the set.
An Oropeza kill made it a 5-4 visitors' edge in the onset of the second frame before the Fighting Tigers won four-straight to go up by five. The Mountaineers quickly made up that ground, however, to tie things at 9-9. Points went back-and-forth through the midway of the game before a Cobleskill attacking error made it 17-16 in favor of the Fighting Tigers. The rest would be controlled by Cobleskill, however, as the visiting team took eight of the next nine to stake a 2-0 upper hand in the match.
Southern Vermont gave a valiant effort in the third stanza in an attempt to extend the night. The Fighting Tigers went up 10-4 with five-straight points, but SVC got the next three to close the gap. Cobleskill answered with three in-a-row of its own, forcing a Mountaineer timeout. Southern Vermont came out of the stoppage and took six of the next seven, Goldman recording a kill and an ace in that stretch to get her team within one. A Billow service ace tied things at 15-15, and the Mountaineers then went in front by three (20-17) as Oropeza followed her own kill with an ace.
A pair of Fighting Tiger kills trimmed the deficit to one for the visitors, and Cobleskill then snagged four straight to go up 23-21. Points were traded in the late going-- a reversed call against SVC making it a 24-22 game for the away team. An ensuing Cobleskill service error gave Southern Vermont one final chance, but an attacking miscue by the Mountaineers allowed the Fighting Tigers to celebrate their sweeping victory.
– #LetsGoSVC –