Volleyball Goes 1-1 on Second Day of Seton Hall Classic

Saturday, September 20

South Orange, N.J.

11:30 AM

Dartmouth College

Seton Hall

Volleyball Goes 1-1 on Second Day of Seton Hall Classic

9/20/2014 6:32:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Dartmouth

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – After defeating Middle Tennessee for the first time in program history the night before, the Dartmouth volleyball team returned to the court for the second day of the Seton Hall Classic by splitting its matches. The Big Green dropped their first match of the day to host Seton Hall in three sets by a score of 13-25, 19-25, 16-25 before having a 3-0 showing against Fordham, ending the weekend with a score of 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 against the Rams.

At the close of the match against Fordham, junior Paige Caridi and sophomore Emily Astarita were named to the Seton Hall Classic All-Tournament Team. Caridi amassed 33 kills, one ace, eight blocks and 27 digs, while Astarita had 32 kills, 22 digs and two assists.

"I am really proud of the tem effort, especially after a tough loss to Seton Hall," said head coach Erin Lindsey. "We played tough during the first match, but Seton Hall's defense was really strong and they were prepared for our offense. It was a good match to test us for the top of the league."

An error started the first set in Dartmouth's favor, and a kill apiece by junior Paige Caridi and sophomore Lottie MacAulay gave the Big Green a short-lived lead before the Pirates went on a three-point run. Sophomore Kaira Lujan had two kills, while classmate Stacey Benton had Dartmouth's lone ace of the set.

The Green and White played stronger in the second set, winning the first point off another error and tying the score 10 times before either team had reached 13 points. Kills by Caridi and senior Lucia Pohlman lessened Seton Hall's lead to three (19-16), but four errors and three kills were all that was needed to end the set.

Kills by Caridi, MacAulay, and two by Astarita gave Dartmouth a 4-1 lead to start the third set, and the team from the Upper Valley would maintain an edge until a kill on the other side of the net tied the score at eight and two errors gave the opponent its first lead. At the end of the set, an error and a kill by Lujan moved the Big Green closer, but an error and a kill by the Pirates wrapped up the match.

Although Fordham had a six-point rally early in the first set to take a 7-2 lead, Dartmouth was able to slowly close the gap, tying the score at 21 following an ace by sophomore Molly Kornfiend. An error gave Fordham the upper hand, but a kill by Caridi put the teams back in the same situation once again. A kill and an error on the other side of the net gave the Rams a 24-22 edge, but a well-timed kill by Caridi helped the Big Green secure the victory.

With 15 ties in the second set, the two teams were evenly matched until the very end. Dartmouth tied the score at 20 on an error, but the Rams took the lead off a kill. Two errors allowed the Big Green to tie the score and take a one-point lead and, with a score of 22-21, an error and an ace by sophomore Julia Lau took the score to 24-21. An error gave the Rams one last point, but it was a Fordham error that gave Dartmouth the point it needed to win the match.

Dartmouth started the fourth set with a two-point advantage and remained in the lead for the entirety of the set. The Green and White stayed at least five points ahead of the Rams until a three-point rally left the teams just one point apart with a score of 21-20. Two kills by Caridi were countered by a kill and an error, but an error by the Rams ended the final set of the weekend.

"Sara Lindquist had a good match right from the pin against Fordham and Stacey Benton did a great job of running our offense and creating opportunity for our hitters," continued Lindsey. "Paige Caridi and Emily Astarita were consistent throughout the weekend and I am glad they were recognized with all-tournament honors."

After three weeks on the road, the Big Green will open their home slate on Tuesday, Sept. 23 with a match against Bryant at 7 p.m. This will be Dartmouth's final non-conference match of the 2014 season, as it will open Ivy League play on Saturday, Sept. 27 against Harvard at 4 p.m.