Pace Volleyball picked up the win for their first game in the familiar Goldstein Center over Felician University. The Setters have won two straight for a record of 2-1.
Pace Swept Saint Thomas Aquinas on September 2 with a 3 sets to 0 victory. Leading the way was Senior Outside Hitter Brielle Jones with 11 kills and Junior Setter Georgette Cosentino having 24 assists.
Felician would have the early advantage in set 1, though it would not take long for Pace to settle in. The set tied at three points apiece and both schools exchanged kills. The Setters would get three straight to get a 12-9 first-set advantage. They would not look back. The gap widens to as much as seven. They won the first set 25-19.
The second set saw Felician go up 9-5 midway. Two straight kills by Brielle Jones a few minutes later tied the game at 13-13. A third kill from Jones gave the Setters the lead for good. Attack errors from the visitors ballooned the Setters’ lead to 18-14. Felician got two kills and a Service Ace en route to make it 20-19. Pace would hold on with two kills, one from Jones and another from senior right side Madisen Lupica. Set 2 went to Pace 25-22.
Felician would come from behind in the third set to avoid the sweep. Pace, once up 14-9 would squander the lead rather quickly. First Felician benefitted from a service ace and also cashed in on a point off a service error. Sara Betts’ kill would tie the game at 21 for the road team. Back-to-back service aces from Karla Maldonaldo made it a 24-21 game en route to forcing a 4th set.
The Setters would get this one back. Initially trailing 6-2. Two straight kills got the game within 2. Six consecutive points went Pace’s way kicked off by another Jones kill. Two Felician attack errors also dug them further a hole from a potential comeback. Felician got a kill to take the lead at 16-15, but they would not get it back. Pace got 10 of the final 11 points to close out the match, ending with two straight service errors from the visitors.
As a team Pace held the advantage of 67% to 50 in points and 14 more kills at 50 to 36. Assists went their way 48-34 as did digs, 69-59. Leading the Setters this match is Jones with 20 total kills followed by 10 for Lupica. Cosentino had 26 assists, her second game with at least 20. Sophomore setter Maggie Fergson had 15.
The team will spend the weekend in Wilmington, DE for their next two games on September 9. First comes Virginia Union University at 2:00, followed by Goldey Beacom College at 4:00. Follow along on paceuathletics.com