PROVIDENCE, RI – The Saint Peter's University women's volleyball team fell in straight sets (15-25, 18-25, 22-25) to Friar Classic host, Providence College on Friday night at Alumni Hall in Providence, Rhode Island.
The Basics
Score: Saint Peter's 0, Providence 3
Records: Saint Peter's (0-9) | Providence (8-1)
Location: Alumni Hall | Providence, RI
Match Notes
- Starting a brand-new lineup for the first time this season, Saint Peter's hung with Providence up until the midway point of the first set, keeping the game no more than three points out of reach.
- After the midpoint, the Friars would run away with the later portion of the set, leading to a 25-15 win over the Peacocks.
- SPU took its first lead of the night in the second game, after an attack error by PC gave the squad a 3-2 lead.
- The Peacocks would surrender the next four consecutive points and never regain the lead in the set, falling 25-18.
- The third set was by far the best of the night for Saint Peter's and had nonstop back and forth play.
- Down by one, the Peacocks rattled off four straight with back-to-back-to-back kills coming from Angeleyshka Curbelo, Wildalys Soto, and Stephanie Rivera, and an attack error by PC, giving SPU a 10-7 lead.
- After PC added a point, Rivera slammed in a kill, followed by a mishap from the Friars, giving SPU a lead of 12-8 -- its largest advantage of the match.
- Seesaw action would lead to seven ties from points 13 through 20 late in the match, with the Peacocks going punch for punch with the Big East opponent.
- With both sides needing five points to claim the set, PC pulled out the final 5-2 run over SPU to take a hard-fought game from the Peacocks and the overall match in straight sets.
Inside the Numbers
- Saint Peter's attack and overall game play improved in all facets as the match went on, upping its kills from 5 to 8 to 13, decreasing its attack errors from 7 to 6 to 5, and improving its attack percentage from -.065 to .061 to .205 in addition to scoring more points by the game (15, 18, 22).
- Curbelo was the team-leader in kills for the second straight match, finishing with eight kills, eight digs, and a pair of assists.
- Rivera followed with six kills, while Alanis Alvarado capped off her night with five kills and a team-high 10 digs.
- Soto led the lineup with 19 assists offensively and three total blocks defensively, while adding six digs as well.
Coach's Quotes – Joe Chojnacki
- "We tried a different lineup tonight without having much time to practice it but as you can see in the game scores, we got better as the night went on."
- "Stephanie Rivera did a great job in the middle, Angeleyshka Curbelo really heated up in the 3rd set offensively and Wildalys Soto did another great job directing the offense and playing solid defense in the back row."
- "Hopefully this is the match that turns the corner for us, the energy and passion were really there tonight. Hoping for more tomorrow."
Up Next
- Saint Peter's will continue action in the Friar Classic tomorrow with a pair of matches.
- The Peacocks take on Fairleigh Dickinson (11am) and Binghamton (3:30pm).
