Eagles dominate in record-breaking win, split NEAC south crossover
Posted on October 16, 2011
By: Tony Martins
Morristown, NJ - The Eagles won their fourth match in conference and also got to .500 with a dominant win over SUNY Morrisville this weekend. More importantly though, the Eagles set a new St. Elizabeth record for wins in a season (12) with the 25-13, 25-19, 25-13 victory over the Mustangs during North Eastern Athletic Conference cross-over play in St. Joseph’s Hall.
The Screaming Eagles stand at 12-13 overall and 4-6 in the NEAC after falling to SUNYIT, 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-16) on Sunday.
On Saturday, CSE was locked in a tight duel early in set one (12-10) until Katie Cooper rotated to serve and proceeded to rattle off four service points -including an ace- which gave the Eagles an insurmountable 16-10 lead. The Mustangs got one back but the Eagles countered with another devastating four-point run to push the lead to 20-11. The Eagles finished off with a 5-2 run to close it out 25-13.
The second set was another tight affair. The Mustangs, however, played like a desperate team and did not yield to the Eagles' serving pressure as in set one. This resulted in a better offensive output by the Mustangs and they were able to match the Eagles' attack game for most of the set. The turning point of the set occurred at 17-17 when the Mustangs failed to convert on a transition attack attempt which was then followed by an ace by Kareemah Muhammad. This two-point swing set the stage for a 6-2 run that closed out the set 25-19.
The third set saw the Eagles take an early lead at 5-2 and never look back. Although the Mustangs closed to within 1 at 7-6, the Eagles went a 5-1 run to extend the lead to 12-7. Another 5-2 run sparked by the serving of Amy Cooper sealed the fate of SUNY Morrisville as the Mustangs were looking at an impossible task of coming back from a 17-9 deficit. The Eagles kept the pressure on to finish off the set on an 8-4 run to close out the match 3-0.
Katie Cooper and Muhammad led the way with 28 of the team's 42 kills. Subhana Wrights added 10 blocks.
The Screaming Eagles of CSE took on the Wildcats of SUNY IT on Sunday looking for their 13th win of the season and their 5th at the NEAC. The Wildcats, however, took control of each set early and managed to outlast the Eagles despite surges by CSE that kept the game close.
In set 1 the Eagles trailed 7-3 early but managed to get on a 6-2 run to tie the set at 9 behind the serving of Rachel Hausler. The Wildcats broke serve and then went on a run of their own, jumping out to a 14-10 lead before it was over. CSE fought back yet again and closed to within 1 late in the set at 19-18 but a serving error cost the Eagles momentum and the Wildcats were able to go on a 5-2 run to close it out 25-20. The Eagles had 8 hitting errors in the set to only 6 kills (4 by Katie Cooper) which was a major contributing factor in the loss.
The second set began very much like the first with SUNY IT jumping out to an early lead ( 7-3) and the Eagles fighting back yet again throughout the set. The difference, however, was that the Wildcats kept the Eagles at bay for most of the set with key kills of their own. SUNY IT had leads of 11-6 and 18-11 and looked to be in total control of the set. At this point Katie Cooper went up to serve and between her service game and the offense of Kareemah Muhammad and Subhana Wrights, the Eagles started to roll. The Eagles went on a 12-4 run that put CSE ahead, 23-22. The Wildcats fought back and took a 24-23 lead but committed a service error to give CSE life at 24-24. Unfortunately, the Wildcats did not commit any other errors and were solid in offense the last 2 points to score a set victory at 26-24. Katie Cooper led all hitters with 7 kills of the team's 12. The team committed only 3 hitting errors in the set which allowed them to be in it at the end.
The third set was another carbon copy of the first 2, SUNY IT over CSE early (7-4) but this time CSE just did not have an offensive answer for SUNY IT and could not generate another comeback. The Wildcats pressed for the victory and took it easily 25-15. Although the Eagles had 9 kills to only 1 error, it was the passing that let the team down as the Eagles could only find Katie Cooper for 5 attack attempts in the set (3 kills - 0 errors) and Kareemah Muhammad was stymied for only 3 kills out of 11 attemps.
The Eagles travel to Brooklyn on Thursday to face Medgar Evers College before hosting a tri-match on Saturday with Hunter College and Montclair University. On Saturday, CSE will celebrate the team’s senior Chanice Sears.
NEAC South Crossover Results
Day 1
CSE 3, Morrisville St. 0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-13)
SUNYIT 3, Lancaster Bible 0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-21)
Lancaster Bible 3, Morrisville St. 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-10)
Day 2
Penn State Berks 3, SUNYIT 1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 25-23)
SUNY IT 3, CSE 0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-16)
Penn State Berks 3, Morrisville St. (25-9, 25-15, 25-19)
