By: Matt Halpin
Momentum, precious momentum.
This was the story as the Quinnipiac Volleyball team dropped its fifth straight conference match in what has been an increasingly frustrating season for the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac suited up for today’s match knowing that they would once again be missing players that were vital to the team’s 2016 success, such as Jen Coffey and Elizabeth Kloos.
Head coach Kris Czaplinski notices the impact in the loss of these players, especially Kat Miller, who has returned, but for limited action.
“When you lose people as talented as [Miller] for a while… you struggle to find your identity because you have such a young team after that,” Czaplinki said.
In what was a must win game for Quinnipiac (5-6 MAAC), the Bobcats came out competing. Even without their top players and against a team sitting comfortably in playoff position, the crowd at Burt Kahn Court was treated to glimpses of the Quinnipiac team that appeared in the MAAC championship in 2016.
However, Iona was equally as brilliant. For much of the first set, neither team allowed the other to take control, as momentum shifted back and forth, with neither team scoring more than two points consecutively.
Bobcat’s sophomore Natalie Alechko was the difference maker in the first set. The outside hitter channeled her inner captain when she led the Bobcats to on a 10-3 run to win the first set 25-16. She finished the match with 12 kills and proved to be a presence all over the court.
“She’s been great,” Czaplinski said. “She’s one of the girls who is stepping into that leadership role and her future is very bright moving forward.”
The second and third sets were more of the same. Iona and Quinnipiac battled for each point, with neither team being able to gain a clear edge. In both sets, however, the Gaels were able to outlast the Bobcats and steal momentum for just long enough to win the sets 25-17 and 25-18.
The Gaels set an intense tone in the fourth set by going on an 11-3 streak. After a timeout, the Bobcats came out with a new lineup, built up of mostly new players and non-starters. The move paid off, as Quinnipiac eventually creeped its way back into the set, tying it up 18-18.
The match ended the way it started, with each team fighting for the momentum and trading point for point. Eventually, it was Iona who was able to squeeze more out of the tank and come away with a 25-23 victory, winning the match by a score of three sets to one.
Czaplinski said that he was proud of the fight and competitiveness that his team played with and that the final Iona points were just “hitting errors.” However, he also has his reservations about keeping young players in for long periods of time without a leader.
“It’s great at one point but at the second, they don’t know where to look… we’ve got to get that leadership going when we are playing in the games,” Czaplinski said.
Quinnipiac now sits in seventh place in the MAAC. The Bobcats travel to face Manhattan (1-22, 1-9 MAAC) on Oct. 22.
