OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. - The Albertus Magnus College volleyball team won its fifth straight match with a 3-0 non-conference sweep of Old Westbury on Thursday evening on the road.
Majo Pelaez (Armenia, Colombia) had a team-high 11 kills, five aces and 14 digs. Sophie Cseszko (Grapevine, TX) had five aces and two kills. Shalese Gordon (Bridgeport, Conn.) had 10 assists with 10 digs.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus 3 | Old Westbury 0
SET 1: Albertus 25 | Old Westbury 17
SET 2: Albertus 25 | Old Westbury 19
SET 3: Albertus 25 | Old Westbury 19
RECORDS: Albertus (11-9) | Old Westbury (4-9)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After giving up the first point of the game, the Falcons jumped out to a 11-6 lead in the first set as Pelaez had two kills, and Gordon and Yarieshka Sierra (Hartford, Conn.) each had one. Cseszko added an ace during the run. Old Westbury got to within three points at 14-11 after an ace from Sofia Lopez, but two more kills from Pelaez and a kill and ace from Cseszko made it a 22-14 set. Two straight errors at the end of the set by Old Westbury gave Albertus the 1-0 lead in the match.
In a tightly contested second set that saw nine ties and four lead changes, the Falcons eventually found themselves down 18-14 after a kill by Old Westbury's Paige Herbert. However, the Falcons scored the next 10 points that started with a kill from Naomi Batalla (New Haven, Conn.). Paula Matheus (Boyaca, Colombia) and Pelaez added two more kills and Gordon had an ace in the run. The Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the match after Fallon had a kill for the final point. Albertus had 16 kills in the set, including five from Pelaez and four from Fallon.
In the third set, Old Westbury went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-7 lead as Herbert had five kills during the run. Albertus rebounded with a 9-1 run of its own, beginning with a kill from Jazmine Taboas Negron (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Pelaez and Richards added a kill and Cseszko had two aces as the Falcons took a 16-13 lead. The set was knotted at 17-17, but a kill from Matheus and an ace by Pelaez helped give Albertus the lead for good. Negron ended the set and the match with a kill.
LEADERS
Albertus
Majo Pelaez - 11 Kills
Shalese Gordon - 10 Assists
Sophie Cseszko and Majo Pelaez - 5 Aces
Majo Pelaez - 14 Digs
Paula Matheus - 4 Blocks
Old Westbury
Paige Herbert - 11 Kills
Katia Gomez - 22 Assists
Sofia Lopez and Paige Herbert - 1 Ace
Katia Gomez - 15 Digs
Kasey Coppola - 2 Blocks
NOTEWORTHY
The five-game winning streak is the longest for the Falcons since 2017 when they won six straight games.
UP NEXT
Albertus plays a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match as the Falcons head to Lasell to take on Rivier at 1 p.m. and Lasell at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 18th.
