JERSEY CITY, N.Y. – The Saint Peter's University volleyball team (7-17, 2-11 MAAC) upset fourth-ranked Canisius (10-13, 8-5 MAAC) in a reverse sweep (19-25, 12-25, 25-23, 25-14, 15-10) on Friday at Run Baby Run Arena. The Peacocks passed their win total from last season with the win.
Indira T. Benitez Dumeng led the charge for Saint Peter's, recording 15 kills and adding six digs and two blocks.
Valeria Pagan Munoz had a similar statline with 14 kills, seven digs and two blocks. The front line duo of
Elena Bilhartz and
Karolina T. Rodriguez Mendez had solid performances as well, each racking up eight kills and combining for 10 blocks.
After dropping the first two sets, the Peacocks kept their focus and went on to win the next two to force a fifth. In that crucial fourth set, Saint Peter's hit a whopping .444 while holding Canisius to just .029. Their offense was able to continue its momentum into the fifth set and ultimately win the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE: The Peacocks and Golden Griffs found themselves in a battle early on in Jersey City, tying at 3-3, 6-6 and 13-13. Canisius then started to find its rhythm as it took a favorable five-point lead over Saint Peter's. A kill by Benitez Dumeng followed by a Canisius attack error brought the Peacocks within three, 19-22. After SPU kept it close late, the Griffs won the set, 25-19, with three consecutive points.
SET TWO: Canisius started strong in set two and never really slowed down. The Griffs began taking a 5-1 lead before extending it to 9-3. Eventually, the Griffs went up 15-8 as the Peacocks took their first timeout of the set. Out of the break, Canisius continued to force Saint Peter's into errors. The Peacocks dropped set two by a score of 12-25.
SET THREE: This was the closest set of the night, and it started off extremely competitive. The Griffs started to pull away from the Peacocks a bit, but a crucial 5-0 scoring run kept the Peacocks in it. Bilhartz contributed two kills to the run while
Cleopatra Diakou added two aces. Later in the set, Canisius gained some separation once again, taking a 20-16 lead. Saint Peter's didn't go away, however, scoring four unanswered points to tie things up at 20-20 and force a Canisius timeout. The Griffs went up 23-22, but Benitez Dumeng tied it at 23 all with a kill. The Peaocks then took the lead after a Pagan Munoz kill, and won the set, 25-23, on a Canisius attack error.
SET FOUR: Saint Peter's dominated the beginning of set four, jumping out to a huge 10-1 lead over the Griffs. Just when Canisius began to chip away at the deficit, back-to-back Saint Peter's points put the Peacocks up 16-7. The Griffs decided to talk things over, but the timeout didn't seem to change too much. Both teams kept trading points before Saint Peter's reached set point with a 4-0 scoring run. A Canisius attack error sent the match to five sets as the Peacocks won set four, 25-14.
SET FIVE: The Peacocks took control of set five with a 6-2 advantage. Two of the six Saint Peter's points belonged to Benitez Dumeng, who had the first two kills of the set. SPU went up 7-3, but a 3-0 run by the Griffs made it just a one-point difference. Saint Peter's responded well with four straight points. Pagan Munoz notched a kill before a Canisius attack error, which was then followed by back-to-back aces by
Lagean Colon. With an 11-6 lead, the Peacocks were able to finish things off down the strech to complete the reverse sweep. SPU took the final set, 15-10, and the match, 3-2.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks take on Niagara on Saturday, Nov. 1 at Run Baby Run Arena. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
