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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Volleyball CWRU tournament
The Blue Streaks played well this weekend, showing great potential defensively.
3
Winner Albion ALBION 3-1
0
John Carroll JOHN_C~1 2-2
Winner
Albion ALBION
3-1
3
Final
0
John Carroll JOHN_C~1
2-2
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Albion ALBION 25 25 25 (3)
John Carroll JOHN_C~1 22 20 22 (0)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Volleyball Falls to Albion in Final Match of CWRU Tournament

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Following a very busy Friday evening, John Carroll University Volleyball returned to the court early on Saturday morning.

The Blue Streaks battled the Albion Britons on Day 2 of the Case Western Reserve University Tournament on Saturday morning at 10 am. 

Following a pitched battle, the Blue Streaks lost to the Brits, 3-0: 22-25, 20-25, 22-25.

"Early season tournaments are great because you see your team's strengths and weaknesses," Head Coach Michele Benoit said. "Our strengths are in our veterans. Our seniors -- Ally, Cassi, Kailee, Anna, Brooke, and Carleen -- are leading by example. The conversations in the huddle are what excite us coaches, that means they're getting it. It reflects leadership." 

The match started in a positive fashion for John Carroll. Cassi Calamunci and Brooke Hjerpe opened things up with back-to-back kills. An Albion error and Ally Bartolone ace set the score at 4-0. But then Albion found its footing. 

The Brits rolled to an 8-0 run, pushing the score to 10-5 and forcing a JCU timeout. Errors by Albion allowed the Blue Streaks to stick around, as the Blue Streaks gradually chipped away. John Carroll finally tied things up at 20 and then took a 21-20 lead, leading the Brits to take a timeout.

The teams traded a point apiece after the break (with a Hjerpe kill), but then the Brits clinched the set with 4 straight points, securing a 25-22 conquest. 

Albion fared a bit better in the first points of the second set, but John Carroll roared to a 5-point run for a 7-4 lead. The two teams battled back-and-forth in the middle stages of the set, deadlocking at 15-apiece. The Brits edged ahead with a 20-17 lead before JCU notched two straight points. But from there on out, Albion's killer instinct kicked in.

The Brits scored five of the next six points, with the lone point allowed being an error. So, the Blue Streaks found themselves behind 2-0 for the second day in a row. 

But unlike the Bethany match on Friday, the Blue Streaks could not break through in the third set. Albion constructed a rapid 11-5 lead, forcing a JCU timeout. The Brits built onto the lead, climbing to an 18-9 advantage, leading to Head Coach Michele Benoit to burn another timeout. 

After Albion pushed ahead to 20-10, John Carroll mounted a furious comeback. The Blue and Gold tore off 7 straight points, just three off the lead. Albion called a timeout to regroup. The move worked, as Albion tabbed a few points remain ahead by a few. At the match point at 24-19, JCU continued to fight, with kills by Herbst and Jillian Kellick. But Albion finally managed to finish things out at 25-22. 

For the match, Calamunci led the team with 14 kills, adding 4 digs and 2 assists. Ally Bartolone topped the team with 20 assists. Anna Coughlin anchored the back end with 14 digs, while Bartolone and Lexi MacDonald each registered eight. 

With the loss, the Blue Streaks drop to 2-2 on the young campaign. 

"All three of our opponents are very solid teams," said Benoit. "We saw some great performances this weekend, including from Cassi and Jill Kellick. Cassi's match against Bethany was outstanding, her net play was spot on. Jill played great as well, we're excited to see her come along."

The Blue Streaks will now regroup for a Wednesday road match at Hiram at 7 pm. Next weekend, JCU will head to the Penn State Behrend Tournament. 
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