New Paltz, NY----Despite two valiant efforts, the Brooklyn College women's volleyball team dropped both of their matches played at a non-conference trimatch hosted by SUNY New Paltz on Saturday. BC fell in the day's first match against the host, 3-0 (25-8, 26-24, 25-13), before being outlasted, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-21) by Centenary University in their second match of the afternoon. Brooklyn goes to 5-8 overall o the season. Next Up: Brooklyn will look to bounce back next weekend when they travel to Rowan University on Saturday, 10/17, for another non-conference trimatch.
Brooklyn- 0, New Paltz- 3
SUNY New Paltz jumped out to an early lead and took the opening set, 25-8. The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard following a Hawks service error, but New Paltz used a strong serving run and consistent attacking to build its advantage. Brooklyn looked to settle in offensively as the set progressed, with Chloe Siena and Saule Okeke-Ziburkus leading the Bulldogs' attack.
Brooklyn responded with a much more competitive effort in the second frame. After falling behind 3-0, Siena recorded a kill off an assist from Rose Kory to get the Bulldogs on the board. Chisom Ogukwe and Sophie Galchus teamed up for a block to help Brooklyn continue its push, while Okeke-Ziburkus added a kill off a Kory assist.
The Bulldogs continued to battle, and Okeke-Ziburkus delivered a service ace as Brooklyn pulled even at 7-7. The teams traded points through a back-and-forth set, with Brooklyn staying within striking distance. Siena later recorded a kill off another Kory assist to bring the score to 24-23. After New Paltz evened the set at 24-24, the Hawks scored the final two points to secure a 26-24 win.
New Paltz regained control in the third set, opening an early lead. Brooklyn found a spark through Galchus, who recorded a kill off a Kory assist, and the Bulldogs added a key defensive play when Meadow Andrews and Galchus combined for a block. Okeke-Ziburkus later connected on a kill set up by libero Mila Servania, but the Hawks maintained their lead and closed out the match with a 25-13 set victory.
Siena and Okeke-Ziburkus paced Brooklyn with six and five kills, respectively, while Kory finished with nine assists. Servania led the Bulldogs with eight digs, and Okeke-Ziburkus added five digs.
For SUNY New Paltz, Christine Balbona led all players with 10 kills while hitting .533. Genevieve Boyle added nine kills and 12 points, and Elena Savage dished out 29 assists. Kim Braun led the Hawks with 16 digs.
Brooklyn- 1, Centenary- 3
The Bulldogs opened the match with a strong first-set performance, overcoming an early deficit to secure a 25-21 victory. Saule Okeke-Ziburkus led Brooklyn's attack with five kills in the opening frame, while Sophie Galchus added four kills. Rose Kory helped facilitate the offense with nine assists in the set as Brooklyn capitalized on key attacking errors by Centenary late in the frame to take the early lead.
Centenary responded in the second set, using a late run to even the match at one set apiece with a 25-22 win. Okeke-Ziburkus continued to lead the Bulldogs offensively, recording five more kills, while Chloe Siena contributed three kills. Despite Brooklyn's efforts to close the gap late, the Cyclones held on to even the contest.
The third set featured a back-and-forth battle, with Brooklyn looking to regain the lead in the match. The Bulldogs fought off set point to tie the score at 24-24, but Centenary captured the final two points to earn a narrow 26-24 victory and take a 2-1 advantage.
In the fourth set, Brooklyn battled to stay within striking distance, but Centenary gradually pulled away to secure the 25-21 decision and close out the match.
Okeke-Ziburkus paced the Bulldogs with 20 kills and 24.5 points, adding 16 digs and four service aces. Siena finished with seven kills, while Galchus contributed six kills and three block assists. Kory directed the offense with 31 assists and added 20 digs, while libero Mila Servania led Brooklyn with 31 digs. Malia Reyes chipped in three kills and 19 digs.
For Centenary, Poppy Skjonnemand led all players with 21 kills and 21.5 points, while Helen Bilomasur added 12 kills. Adrienne Xiao set for assists, and libero Rey Bennett recorded 48 digs to help the Cyclones withstand Brooklyn's offensive pressure.
