Box Score WILMINGTON, Del. – Felician College faced a deficit of one set to none, plus 15-4 in Set 2, before coming back for a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20) Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference women's volleyball victory over host Goldey-Beacom College on Saturday afternoon at the Joseph West Jones Center.
Sophomore middle blocker Shannon Hood (East Orange, N.J.) posted a .345 attack percentage and led Felician (5-19, 3-9 CACC) with season highs of 12 kills and six blocks. Senior setter Susie McKeever (North Fort Myers, Fla.) turned in five kills, 24 assists and 10 digs.
The win moved Felician to within a half-game of Dominican (N.Y.) College for fourth place and the final playoff spot from the CACC North Division. The Golden Falcons have seven conference matches remaining.
The Golden Falcons fell behind, 14-9 in Set 1, and later trailed by that same margin, 22-17. A service ace by Lanyse Castro (Elizabeth, N.J.) pulled the visitors to within 23-22, but out of a Goldey-Beacom timeout, Felician committed an attack error. The Lightning then used an ace by sophomore Shyanne Shank (Lebanon, Pa.) to claim the set.
The momentum of the match turned in the middle of the second set. Sarah Shebel (Chandler, Ariz.) had two aces and McKeever a pair of kills during a run of six points for Felician which pulled them to within 15-10. Later, trailing 19-13, the Golden Falcons ran off 10 consecutive points, including two kills from Amanda Coccia (Rahway, N.J.), to lead by four. Two GBC points later, a Hood kill and a Lightning error let Felician come away with the set and knot the match at 1-1.
The Golden Falcons turned a 13-13 tie into an 18-15 Set 3 lead, then used two more Castro aces in a run of four points to move ahead, 22-17 before finishing out the set. In Set 4, Felician switched an early 7-4 deficit into a 15-12 advantage, which bulged to 22-17. Two side-outs and a GBC attack error were enough to allow the Golden Falcons to complete the victory.
Felician matched its season high with 11 aces, including four by Castro. She also finished with seven kills and 13 digs. Freshman outside Paulina Calero (El Centro, Calif.) put down 10 kills for the visitors, and junior libero Niccole Soriano (Elizabeth, N.J.) led the Golden Falcons with 18 digs.
Junior outside Grace McCarthy (Middletown, Del.) totaled 14 kills and 14 digs and senior middle Innocent Early (Newark, N.J.) registered 10 kills and three blocks to pace the Lightning (6-15, 2-11).
Felician travels to 2014 CACC champion Post University on Tuesday.
