WALTHAM, Mass. – Tory Vitko delivered a career-high eight service aces to lead the Bentley volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-11, 25-22, 23-25, 25-21) win over Franklin Pierce in the Dana Athletics Center Tuesday night. It was the Falcons' 17
th consecutive win.
Vitko's previous high was three aces in a match, something the junior has achieved numerous times in her Bentley career. She served up three aces within Bentley's first five points against Franklin Pierce (7-14, 2-6 NE10).
Freshman
Yasmin Tonon matched her season high in aces with five, and fellow classmate
Makayla Kuykendall matched her season high in aces with four. All in all, Bentley (18-6, 7-0 NE10) totaled 23 aces – the program's highest total for a match in at least 15 years.
Individually, Heidi Anderson holds the Bentley record for most service aces in a match (11, vs. Saint Anselm, 1993).
Bentley looked poised for another sweep when it rolled the Ravens in the first set, 25-11. However, Franklin Pierce proved to be a formidable foe in the final three sets. Bentley held a 19-14 lead in the second set, but Franklin Pierce showed no signs of quitting. The Ravens went on a 5-0 run to tie the set, 19-19.
A kill by
Lulu Pavan started a 4-1 Bentley run to close out the second set in the Falcons' favor. However, Franklin Pierce carried its momentum over to the third set, which it won by two points.
The Falcons jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set, including three consecutive aces by Kuykendall. The Ravens responded with a 6-0 run to take a one-point lead. Neither side led by more than three points until another Kuykendall ace gave Bentley a 20-16 advantage. It was just the edge the Falcons needed to fend off the Ravens for good.
Sophia Poehlein led all players in kills with 13. The junior recently became the 10
th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.
The Falcons celebrate their seniors Saturday, Oct. 31, when they host Saint Michael's at 1 p.m.
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