BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – Led by a 29-dig effort from junior libero specialist Nelly Diaz (Land O Lakes, Fla.), the Concordia College New York women's volleyball team set a Meyer Athletic Center record on Wednesday evening for the most digs with 93 total while freshman middle blocker Madison Gardner (Oak Hills, Calif.) matched a program record in her debut, a 3-1 (25-19, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21) setback to Caldwell University in the Clippers season and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) opener.
NOTES
• Concordia opens the season with a 0-1 record, 0-1 in CACC play.
• Caldwell improves to 2-6 overall, 1-0 in league action.
• The 93 total digs sits fifth overall in the program record book.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Sophomore right-side hitter Militza De Hostos (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) tallied a double-double in her Clipper debut with 18 digs and 18 assists.
• Senior setter Alana Rousset-Hernandez (Canovanas, Puerto Rico) recorded a double-double in the season opener behind a team-high 21 assists and 11 digs.
• Freshman defensive specialist Lydimar Soto De Los Santos (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) fell one dig away from a double-double with nine and 10 kills on top of one solo block and one assisted block.
• Sophomore outside hitter Nilka Rivera (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) tied for the team lead in kills with 10 while assisting on one block.
• Gardner matched the program record with three solo blocks to go with three assisted blocks on top of eight kills and two service aces.
• For Caldwell, Alise Smith and Marina Schlaepfer both had 13 kills whileh Samantha Ashton recorded 39 assists and Humiko Stormer boasted 21 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Concordia jumped out to an early 6-2 advantage in the opening set, but a quick 5-0 spurt for the visitors created a 7-6 score. The Clippers ended the run with a kill from Rivera, with the two sides swapping the ensuing six points before three-straight points from Caldwell gave them a 13-10 edge with the visitors holding the lead for the remainder of the frame.
• Caldwell scored the opening point of the second stanza and never looked trailed, using a 5-0 run with the score tied 7-all to take a 12-7 lead. Concordia rallied and cut the separation to one at 17-16 off a 5-1 run, but the Cougars responded with a quick 3-1 stretch to create separation.
• After exchanging the opening 16 points of the third frame for an 8-8 standstill, the Clippers used an 14-3 stretch to create a double-digit lead at 22-11. Caldwell clawed their way into the separation, getting as close as 23-19 before a senior outside hitter Camila Rabassa (Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico) kill and Gardner block ended the stanza.
• The two sides went back-and-fourth over the initial 28 points of the fourth set with neither side holding a lead greater than one during the stretch before three-straight points for the visitors created a 17-14 score. Concordia cut the deficit down to one at 22-21 off four-straight points, only for Caldwell to score three unanswered to end the match.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Concordia finished the match with 49 kills on a .150 hitting percentage versus 53 on a .152 clip for Caldwell
• Concordia held a 93-90 advantage in digs.
• The visitors served six aces, Concordia served three.
• Concordia tallied six solo blocks and eight assisted blocks while Caldwell had one solo and eight assisted.
UP NEXT
The Clippers travel to Nyack College on Tuesday, Sept. 24 for a 7 p.m. conference showdown.
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