ALBANY, N.Y. – The College of Saint Rose volleyball team, led by junior outside hitter Kelsey Lace, won its sixth match in a row Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) victory over non-conference foe Molloy in Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium.
The six-game streak ties the longest of the season for the Golden Knights (13-4 overall). The Lions drop to 8-11 with the loss.
All three sets started off with multiple ties and lead changes. The final tie in set one came at 5-5, and was followed by a 3-0 run from Saint Rose. The Golden Knights strung together four points later in the game for a 16-10 lead, but Molloy put together its own five-point spurt to come within one at 16-15. Both teams chipped away at the board throughout the remainder of the set, but neither of them was able to put a run together. The Golden Knights held Molloy to seven more points compared to their nine for a 25-22 win.
After the 3-3 tie in the second, Saint Rose once again laid down three tallies in a row, and five more in the middle of the game for a 16-9 advantage. The Lions put up their biggest run of the day at eight-straight to tie the game at 19-all. The game would tie twice more before Saint Rose grabbed three in a row, and a huge kill from Lace to end the game at 25-22.
The Golden Knights jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the third and final set. Molloy battled back once again and brought the game to 17-16, but Saint Rose whipped out a seven-point run for a 24-16 advantage. The Lions did not give up from there as they grabbed three of their own points, before the game-winning kill from sophomore outside hitter Rachel Salasky.
Lace registered 11 kills to lead the Saint Rose attack. Sophomores Jennifer Gundrum and Maryellen Devic followed just behind with nine apiece, and setters Tori Daniels and Erica Ziskin combined for 34 assists. Senior libero Katy Daniels and Devic recorded nine digs apiece, and freshman middle hitter Maddy Halverson and Gundrum put up two blocks each to aid in the defense.
Saint Rose returns to its Northeast-10 Conference slate on Wednesday for a 7:00 pm meeting at New Haven, and returns home on Saturday, September 19 to face Merrimack at 1:00 pm.
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