Quincy, MA- The Women's Volleyball team opened up the 2019 season on Friday evening as part of the Eastern Nazarene Classic at the Lahue Physical Education Center. The team faced both host Eastern Nazarene and Nichols College on both Friday and Saturday, but came up with the same results on each day, losing each match 3-0 and falling to 0-4 to start the season.
Game 1-
In the opening match against Nicholson Friday afternoon the Falcons started out going toe-to-toe with Bison, but a 9-2 run by Nichols put the game out of reach as they led 17-6 early on. The two teams each scored eight points over the next 16 chances, but it was not enough as the Falcons fell 25-14 in Game 1. The Bison continued to put on the pressure in the second game, pulling ahead 5-0 to start the second match, but two points scored by Cynthia Huerta (Salinas, CA) and an error from Nichols brought the score to 5-3. The Falcons kept it close over the next 32 points as it was 21-16 in favor of the Bison. But NC closed it out taking set number two by the score of 25-17. The Falcons came out strong in the third set looking to stay in the match, as they got out to an early 10-6 lead capped by a Huerta Kill. Fisher kept on the pressure, leading by as many as seven points after a Katherine Rodriguez () ace. But Nichols took advantage of seven Fisher errors over the next half of the set, and went on a 15-6 run to close out the match, winning 3-0.
Huerta led the way on the offensive side of the ball, collecting her first 8 kills of the season, while Rodriguez earned her first 12 assists in a Falcons uniform. Senior Lia Aime (Las Piedras, PR), Huerta and Erica Nunez (Dorchester, MA) chipped with a combined 28 digs in the losing effort.
Game 2-
The Lady Falcons looked to bounce back after losing their opening match at the hands of the Nichols Bison, took on host Eastern Nazarene in the nightcap on Friday evening. The home team got on the board first, outscoring the Falcons 25-13, and then expanded its advantage to 2-0 with a 25-12 decision in the second frame, as the Falcons could not get much going on the offensive end. The Lions continued to put on the pressure in the third set, and Lions went on to a 25-9 win in the third to lock up their fourth-consecutive victory. The Falcons could not overcome the 24 errors in the match, while only forcing eight errors from ENC, falling to 0-2 on Friday evening.
Cynthia Huerta paced Fisher in the nightcap, adding seven more kills and 13 digs. Charisse Lazu (Trujillo, Alto, PR) played well, adding 10 digs to her stat sheet, while Katherine Rodriguez tacked on another 14 assists to lead her team.
Game 3-
For the second time in 24 hours the Falcons took on the Eastern Nazarene Lions, but unfortunately came out with the same results. The Lions proved to be too much for the Falcons as they fell in three straight sets, 25-13, 25-10. 25-9. Again errors proved to be costly for the visitors as the Lions forced 22 errors over the three games to bring their record to 6-3 this season, while the Falcons fell to 0-3. Cynthia Huerta continued her strong play in the ENC Classic, earning 10 more kills and 10 more digs in the match. Erica Nunez and Katherine Rodriguez each had eight digs a piece, while Rodriguez also added more eight assists in her first year campaign.
Game 4-
The Falcons best match of the weekend came in the fourth game, the rematch against the Nichols Bison. Despite losing the match 3-0, the Falcons played well and fought hard at the chance for their first W of the season. In the first game, neither team could establish a strong lead as neither team could get anything higher than a three-point lead. With the Bison leading 16-13, Nichols tried gain momentum, but the Falcons would not go quietly pulling within three at 24-21, but a Nichols kill would end the Falcons comeback and NC would take game one, 25-21. Game number two was more of the same as each team battled for the lead with again the Bison leading 16-13 halfway through. But the Bison finished on a 9-5 run, forcing four Falcons errors over that stretch and would take Game 2, 25-18. Strong play from Lia Aime, Katherine Rodriguez and Cynthia Huerta in the final game made it another tight battle, as the two teams were tied at 16 in the third set. Another strong finish put the game out of reach down the stretch though, outscoring the Falcons 9-3 over the last 12 points and would take the match 3-0.
Senior captain Lia Aime had a great game for the Falcons, finishing with six kills, and 19 digs, while Erica Nunez and Huerta each contributing 10 digs.
The Falcons will look to get a win in the win column when they hit the road to Five Towns College on Wednesday, Sept 18th for a 6pm start.