Box Score WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley fans quickly witnessed that postseason volleyball is a whole different level of intensity than the regular season. The Falcons prevailed over Southern Connecticut, 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19), in a Northeast 10 Semifinal match in Waltham Friday evening. Bentley is the #1 seed of the NE10 Championship, and SCSU is the #4 seed.
Bentley (23-4) entered the postseason with 18 consecutive wins. The Falcons closed out the regular season with five consecutive sweeps, but the opening set of Friday's semifinal indicated that the postseason would present elevated challenges for Bentley.
The Falcons cruised to an 18-13 lead in the first set, but this is postseason volleyball – and no lead is ever safe. The Owls (16-9) went on a 5-0 run to tie the set at 18-all. Bentley went up by two points, 21-19, when
Elizabeth Blinn put away a kill, which was then followed by a SCSU error.
Still, the Owls clawed back and took a 24-22 advantage. Needing just one more point to win the first set, SCSU couldn't take advantage. The team committed a service error to keep the opening set alive for Bentley, and
Sophia Poehlein tied it up at 24 with a service ace. A kill by
Elena Coban then gave Bentley a one-point edge. Although SCSU answered back with a point, the Falcons won the set, 27-25, with consecutive kills by
Aria Birdsong and Blinn.
The second set didn't get any easier for Bentley. In fact, it went in the Owls' favor, 25-22. Similarly to the opening stanza, Bentley had a favorable lead in the second set, 20-14. But that's when SCSU put together a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 lead. Bentley did not reclaim an advantage in the second set.
When the Falcons took a 6-5 lead in the third set, they held it for the rest of the stanza. But SCSU didn't make it easy. Bentley clung to a 20-19 lead when kills by
Lulu Pavan and Blinn cushioned the advantage to 22-19. Blinn and Pavan once again tallied back-to-back kills to finish the set, 25-20.
The third set was knotted up at 14-14, but a kill by Pavan started a 5-1 for Bentley, and the top seed never looked back.
Three Falcons totaled 11 kills each in the victory: Blinn, Pavan, Poehlein.
Tory Vitko notched her ninth double-double of the season with 37 assists and 10 digs. Blinn and Coban each came away with five blocks, helping to hold SCSU to a .171 hitting percentage.
Bentley hosts the NE10 Championship title match Saturday, Nov. 22, against either #2 Adelphi or #3 American International. Game time is set for 5 p.m.
