RUSSINI SLAMS DOWN EIGHT KILLS AS VOLLEYBALL GOES DOWN AT PACE, 3-0

Box Score vs. Pace - October 20, 2009

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 20, 2009) - Sophomore middle hitter Catherine Russini (Westbury, N.Y.) raked a team-leading eight kills on Tuesday night, but it did not get the job done as the Molloy College volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (18-25, 20-25, 24-26) defeat at the hands of Northeast-10 Conference opponent Pace University at the Goldstein Fit Center in Pleasantville, N.Y. She also registered a .333 hitting percentage to go with three digs, two service aces and one block assist in the loss.

Knotted at 8-up in the opening set, Pace (14-7) recorded a 7-1 streak to grab hold of a 15-9 lead. Junior middle blocker Victoria Pompilus (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) recorded a pair of kills, while freshman outside hitter Susana Verdugo-Del Real (El Centro, Calif.) pulled off the same feat in the spurt. Soon after, the Setters were up 23-16. The Lions (8-16) won two quick points, which was capped off by a kill from freshman outside hitter Jenna Faggione (Hicksville, N.Y.). However, it wasn't enough as the visitors lost the first set.

Deadlocked at 2-2 in the second set, Pace jumped out to a quick advantage as it went on a 7-1 streak to go up by a count of 9-3. Junior middle blocker Sianna Johnson (Long Beach, Calif.) ended the streak with a pair of kills. Following a kill by Molloy junior outside hitter Arielle Wichard (Merrick, N.Y.), the visitors answered right back with four straight points to take their largest margin at nine (13-4). Johnson and freshman setter/outside hitter Nora Rugova (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) each had a kill at the start of the spurt.

The Lions responded though with four of their own to trim the deficit to five. Faggione got things going with a kill from freshman setter Jennifer Koelbel (West Hempstead, N.Y.). Soon after, Molloy was able to come within a two-point margin, but got no closer. A Rugova kill and bad set by Koelbel iced the set for Pace.

The Setters opened the third set by taking eight of the first 10 points. Rugova started things with a pair of kills, while freshman middle blocker/right-side hitter Tamilee Webb (Hartsdale, N.Y.) capped off the burst with three of the last four kills. Later on, the Lions trailed 22-16, but rallied for six unanswered points to knot the match up at 22-all. Russini notched two of the three kills in the streak. Pace took the match though on an unforced error by sophomore right-side hitter Angelica Nicalek (Valley Stream, N.Y.).

Head Coach Kevin Quiambao and his squad return to action this Thursday when Molloy hosts Queens College in an East Coast Conference match at Quealy Gymnasium in Rockville Centre, N.Y. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. It will also be a "Dig Pink" contest for the Lions as they will sport pink uniforms for the fight against breast cancer. If you are unable to make it, you can follow all of the progress via Live Stats by clicking here.