NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Saint Peter's University women's volleyball team leveled the contest at a set apiece and had three opportunities to take a commanding 2-1 lead late in the third, but a dramatic run by host Iona proved to be the difference not only in the third frame, but the match, as the Gaels handed the Peacocks a 3-1 setback in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play on Wednesday night at the Hynes Center.
Staring at a daunting 24-21 deficit and at least three set point opportunities for the visitors, Iona instead mounted an improbable comeback with five straight rally wins to give the Gaels the third frame. They would go on to win the fourth and final stanza by a 12-point margin to seal the win.
Senior
Alanis Alvarado had another double-double thanks to a team-leading 16 kills and 13 digs, while rookie
Charlee Cordts came through with a team-high 16 digs in a valiant effort for the Peacocks.
The Basics
Score: Iona 3, Saint Peter's 1 (25-20; 23-25; 26-24; 25-13)
Records: Saint Peter's (1-18, 0-8) | Iona (6-10, 4-4)
Location: Hynes Center | New Rochelle, NY
Set Summaries
- Iona had the momentum out of the gate, building a five-point lead (7-2) and then eventually an eight-point edge (17-9). The Peacocks would get within three after one of sophomore Alwen Pila's team-high three aces, but Iona answered with four straight rallies and eventually took the opening stanza by a 25-20 margin.
- Saint Peter's had different plans for the second after ripping off six straight points to grab a five-point edge (7-2). Each side would trade runs of no more than three points apiece, as the two schools stayed within three points of each other with the Peacocks holding a 17-14 lead in the later stages of the frame.
- Iona would grab its first lead of the set since 2-1 when it won five straight to go ahead by a 19-17 margin, but Saint Peter's would go on to win six of the next seven points before ultimately prevailing in the second thanks to a kill from Alvarado that gave the Peacocks the frame by a 25-23 final margin.
- Early in the third, with the score even at 7-7, the visitors would start to chip away and build a lead that it would not relinquish for nearly the rest of the set. The Peacocks had leads of 13-9, 15-12, 17-14 and 22-16 before the Gaels won four straight to make it a two-point set (22-20).
- Saint Peter's responded by winning two out of the next three points and was staring at a 24-21 lead and a trio of set points that would have allowed them to take a commanding lead in the match. Iona, however, rallied all the way back with five straight points and eventually took the third frame, 26-24.
- Things were even in the early goings of the fourth, but the match-deciding sequence came by means of an 11-0 run for the hosts that turned a 6-3 Saint Peter's lead into a 14-6 edge for the Gaels.
- Four straight Peacock points had them within six (17-11), but that was the closest the final set would get the rest of the way before the Gaels closed it out.
Highlights
- It was Alvarado again pacing the Peacock offense, as her match-high 16 kills were the most by any Saint Peter's player on Wednesday night and the only double-digit kills figure for the visitors. She also went 30-for-31 on service receptions (.968).
- Cordts was fantastic defensively on Wednesday thanks to a team-high 16 digs; she was one of four players with double-digit digs, joined by Alvarado (13), senior Andrea Lombeyda (13) and graduate student Wildalys Soto (12).
- Soto would post her sixth 30+ assist outing of the season with a team-high 31 helpers on Wednesday; she was the only player in the match with 30 or more assists.
- Pila had three of the team's four aces, a figure that tied a single-game season-high for the sophomore.
Up Next
Saint Peter's continues its three-match, week-long road trip with the Western New York swing this weekend, as the Peacocks visit Canisius on Saturday (Oct. 16) at 12 p.m.
