PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The Concordia College women's volleyball team began its 2018 season on Friday evening at Pace University, falling to the host Setters 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-18).
NOTES
• Concordia drops to 0-1 on the season.
• Pace improves to 3-1.
• Junior outside hitter Camila Rabassa (Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico) set her career-high in the season opener with eight digs while matching her personal-best in hitting percentage with a .400 clip off a team-best eight kills.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Junior right-side hitter Tatienne Tugade-Sua anchored the defense with 11 digs while contributing six kills.
• Senior setter Bianca Ortiz (Perth Amboy, N.J.) dished out a team-best 12 assists to go with four digs, two kills and an assisted block with fellow senior Lauren Peters (Monterey Park, Calif.)
• Freshman outside hitter Nilka Rivera established her career-marks with five digs and four kills in her collegiate debut. Fellow freshman Alejandra Perez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) chipped in three digs, two assists and one kill in her first match as a Clipper.
• For Pace, Tatjana Calimpong-Burke boasted nine kills on a .571 percentage while Katy Motz had 14 assists and Danielle Variano recorded 18 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Concordia and Pace split the opening four points of the contest, with Rabassa logging the Clippers' first kill of the season, before six-straight points for the host propelled them to an 8-2 advantage. The Clippers responded with kills from Tugade-Sua and Peters sandwiching a Pace point only for a 7-0 spurt by Pace expanding the separation to double-digits at 16-4. Concordia got its longest run of the frame late, a 4-0 spree to make it 21-11, but an equal retort by Pace ended the opening stanza.
• Pace began the second set with a pair of 4-0 runs separated by a Clippers' point to hold an early 8-1 lead. Concorida responded with three of the ensuing five points, including a kill from senior Derilis Valerio, but a 4-1 response by the Setters made it a nine-point game at 14-5. Back-to-back terminations from Tugade-Sua sparked a 5-2 stretch that cut the separation down to six at 16-10, but the Clippers could never get any closer as Pace ended the stanza on a 9-4 run to take the second set 25-14. • Trailing by as many as seven in the third set, Concordia managed to cut the deficit down to one at 13-12 off an 8-2 rally with three kills from Rabasa and one from Rivera. Pace recreated the gap with four-quick points, and kept the separation at four or more for the remainder of match-clinching 25-18 set.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Concordia finished the match with 24 kills on a .083 hitting percentage versus 40 on a .430 clip for Pace
• Both sides finished with 35 digs.
• Pace served seven aces.
• Concordia recorded 20 assists while Pace finished with 33.
UP NEXT
Concordia hosts Nyack in the Clippers' home and CACC opener on Wednesday, Sept. 5. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.
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