JOHNSON, Vt. – The Johnson State College volleyball team fell to Lyndon State College 3-0 in their North Atlantic Conference (NAC) opener on Tuesday evening.
SET 1
Lyndon (1-7, 1-0 NAC) started fast in the opening set, scoring the first seven points of the contest. Faith Richard recorded a kill and a service ace in the run, which was aided by four Johnson attack errors. A Hornet attack error got Johnson (0-9, 0-1 NAC) on the board, but the Hornets ran off eight more points in a row to take command at 15-1. Megan Campo picked up a kill as the Hornets continued to capitalize on Johnson errors. The Badgers staged a mini-rally to narrow the margin to 18-8, but the Hornets were able to close the set out, 25-11.
SET 2
The Hornets started fast in the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead on the strength of two kills from Samantha Theriault and two service aces from Richard. The Badgers narrowed the margin to 11-8, but three straight service aces pushed Lyndon's lead back to six. Following a kill from Johnson's Elyssa Kornbrath (Manchester, Conn.) and an ace from Kayla Atkinson (North Wolcott, Vt.), a Richard kill and two aces from Zoe Pierce-Olhson put Lyndon in front, 17-10. Johnson was able to stage a small rally late, but the Hornets closed out the set, 25-14.
SET 3
Lyndon again jumped out in front early in the third set, 5-0. The Hornets methodically increased their advantage to 17-5. Lyndon continued to extend the lead and found themselves with a 20-6 advantage late in the set. Johnson's Jenna Murawski (East Burke, Vt.) led the Badgers back as she served up six straight Johnson points, and the lead was cut to 20-12. A Badger service error broke the run, but Johnson ran off another four points in a row to make the score 21-16. A Campo kill and a bad Johnson set got the Hornets to 23. The Badgers responded by running off another six in a row, and when Murawski picked up a kill, Johnson had come all the way back to pull even at 23-23. A Badger attack error made it 24-23 Lyndon, and a Lyndon kill ended the match with a 25-23 set score.
STATS LEADERS
Kimberly Reville (Burke, N.Y.) and Kornbrath led Johnson with three kills each, with Kornbrath adding a team-high five digs. Delanie Clark (Tupper Lake, N.Y.) led the team with five assists, while Reville notched four service errors.
NEXT UP
Johnson will host a NAC quad-match on Saturday, September 30th, facing off against Husson and Maine Maritime Academy.