Boston College volleyball traveled to Athens, Georgia this weekend to play three games in the Bulldog Classic, hosted by the Georgia Bulldogs.
On Friday night, the Eagles (6–2) squared off against the Bulldogs (4–3) in their second game of the tournament, falling 3–1.
The Eagles got off to a slow start Friday night, dropping the first set by a score of 25–9 as they adjusted to a strong Georgia attack.
“We couldn’t handle the serve, I think we got overwhelmed by the physicality part of it,” BC head coach Jason Kennedy said following the loss. “I think it was probably the best serving team we’ve faced all year and it took us a set and a half to really settle into it.”
Serving proved to be a difference in this game, as the Bulldogs had eight aces compared to the Eagles’ two. The difference in errors was also noticeable, at least early, as the Eagles opened the game with 11 attacking errors and two service errors in the first set, whereas the Bulldogs only had just three attacking errors.
“The passing wasn’t quite where we needed it to be right off the bat, but as the match went on it got a little bit cleaner and we were able to do a little bit more of what we wanted,” Kennedy said.
The Eagles began to find traces of their game, rallying to take a 10–7 lead in the second set, however, following a stretch of back and forth play, the Bulldogs took a 4-point, 21–17, lead that the Eagles could not close, losing 25–21.
Down 2–0, it looked like the Eagles were bound to get swept in the third, falling behind by three points early, which became a theme of the third set.
The Eagles found themselves down by three or more points six separate times in the third, even trailing 20–18 and 22–20 late, but found ways to rally back every time, eventually stealing set three by a score of 26–24.
This was thanks in part to the clutch play of senior middle blocker/opposite hitter Julia Haggerty and sophomore outside hitter Audrey Ross.
“I thought Julia Haggerty was great, she was up against one of the best middles in the country in Sophie Fischer who was named SEC Player of the Year last year… and [Haggerty] was phenomenal,” Kennedy emphasized. “She was twelve-one-twenty (kills-errors-attack attempts) and hit a .550 percent, which anytime you get a middle that can get you three kills a set and hit a .550 percent, she’s doing something right.”
Haggerty finished the game as the Eagles’ leader in kills and hitting percentage.
Following the resilient victory in the third set, it looked as though the Eagles were gonna make the game an interesting one. After falling behind 8–3, the Eagles responded with a 9–3 run of their own to take a lead midway through the fourth set.
“In sets three and four I thought we played a much cleaner game. We hit for a pretty good percentage and I think we were pretty effective in what we were trying to do,” Kennedy said.
However, Georgia would unleash their formidable attack once again. A service ace from Bianna Muoneke put them up 22–16, earning the Bulldogs a six point cushion that the Eagles could not claw back from, despite a late effort.
A 25–20 final in the fourth set ended the game, with Georgia winning three sets to one.
“I wish we could turn around and play this next match right now to be honest, I felt we were finally in a rhythm,” Kennedy said. “We’ve found a little bit of a groove here in this building and hopefully we can continue that tomorrow.”
Unfortunately for the Eagles, they did not regain their groove Saturday afternoon, as they were swept 3–0 by the Utah Valley Wolverines (7–2). The scores for each set were 25–14, 25–22, and 25–21, respectively.
Outside hitter Audrey Ross notched nine kills, adding to her team-leading 107 on the season. Fellow OH Halle Schroder isn’t far behind though, who’s match-leading 15 kills against Utah Valley brought her total to 105.
Before playing the Bulldogs Friday night, the Eagles started the weekend off with a win in Friday morning’s game against the Jacksonville Dolphins (3–6), taking the match by a score of 3–1. Boston College took contested first and fourth sets 25–23, and dominated the third set 25–11.
The Eagles played a much cleaner game than the Dolphins, having 17 errors compared to Jacksonville’s 31, and out-blocked the Dolphins 17 to 6. Halle Schroder had another dominant game, leading the way with 16 of the Eagles’ 53 kills and senior setter Jane Petrie posted a season-high 23 assists.
Leave a Reply