In their first two home matches of the season, the John Carroll Blue Streaks needed five sets and a strong comeback effort in order to get the win.
In the matchup tonight, the Blue Streaks had no need for a comeback as they defeated the La Roche College Redhawks, 3-0. The scores for the sets were 28-26, 25-12, and 25-21 as John Carroll earned its 14th win of the season.
John Carroll had a rough start to the first set, as the Blue and Gold fell behind 5-1 early and were unable to gain the advantage over La Roche despite tying the score multiple times. Aiding in La Roche's efforts in the set was Bailey McDonald, who recorded nine assists and seven digs. It was not until JCU moved ahead at 15-14 that the home team has the advantage. The Redhawks responded with a 5-0 run, forcing a JCU timeout.
The Blue Streaks clawed back and finally gained a 24-23 lead, setting off a series of back and forth points that had the teams tied at 26-26. Finally,
Brooke Hjerpe was able to get the kill and the set point, giving John Carroll the 28-26 win. Hjerpe had three kills and seven digs in John Carroll's comeback effort in the set.
The second set started off with multiple runs from both teams, with John Carroll going on a three point roll which La Roche answered with a five point run to gain a lead. John Carroll then put together a stretch that built a 13-7 advantage. From there, it was all Blue Streaks as they rolled to a 25-12 win in the second set.
Kailee Herbst was the leading scorer in the second set, recording four kills and two aces for the Blue Streaks.
The third set proved to be John Carroll's best start of the night, as they went on a six point run after giving up the first point to the Redhawks. La Roche refused to quit as they were able to tie the game at 11-11. However, the Blue Streaks immediately responded with a five point run to take a 16-11 lead. The Blue Streaks lead never fell below three as they won the third set 25-21 to take the match. John Carroll received a strong contribution in the third set from junior
Sarah Calabrese, who was aggressive with 13 attacks in the set while recording three kills, four digs, and a block in the final set of the match.
La Roche College (4-11) was lead by Reilee Bradford recorded a team high 10 kills, tied for the lead with 12 digs, and recorded a block and an ace on the night. McDonald lead the team with 20 assists and two serving aces.
For the Blue Streaks (14-3),
Cassi Calamunci was the only player with double digit kills, recording 12 and leading the team with 12 points.
Ally Bartolone also had a strong performance for John Carroll, leading the team in assists with 18 while also recording 10 digs.
JCU recoded a season-high nine blocks on the evening, led by
Ava Nice who tallied two solo blocks and four assisted blocks.
John Carroll moves to 5-0 all time against La Roche college, recording their fourth sweep against the Redhawks.
The Blue Streaks next match will take place in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, as they take on Geneva College (PA.) on Wednesday, October 2nd, at 7:00 p.m.
