ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The first win is always the most difficult. Coach
Doug Porterfield and the Roberts Wesleyan women's volleyball team can breathe a little easier tonight after the Redhawks beat the College of Saint Rose 3-2 (11-25; 25-20; 16-25; 25-16; 15-9) on Friday night to earn its first win of the season.
It wasn't the start the Redhawks wanted at home in the Voller Athletic Center. The team dropped the first set 25-11. The urgency Porterfield preached in the locker room was absent on the court. But Roberts found their fight in the second set and that attitude remained present throughout the rest of the match.
Leading the way for the Redhawks was freshman
Sydney Yanak who had a career night. The Avon, Ohio native finished the game with 17 kills, 12 digs, 3 block assists, a service ace and an assist. Yanak scored 19.5 points for the Redhawks.
Joining Yanak with double digit kills was
Emily Rowlison and
Lauren Norwood. Together the trio combined for 40 total kills. Rowlison had 10 kills on an efficient 10-for-20 (.400) night with only a pair of errors. Norwood finished with 13 kills and a .233 hitting percentage.
Miranda Rich and
Sarina Pasquantonio had solid nights with eight kills each.
Sophomore
Madison Truong had her best night with the Redhawks dishing out a career high 48 assists. Truong's previous best performance this season was 26 assists, against Mercy last week. In addition to her passing, Truong was impressive in the serve game recording four aces.
Momentum shifted for good for the Redhawks in the fourth set when Roberts scored six straight points to take a 22-13 lead. In that stretch Rowlison had four kills. The offensive run put Saint Rose on their heels and Roberts took advantage to win the fourth set and dominate the fifth set.
With the score tied 9-9 in the fifth set Porterfield said the team had the "fire of desire" to finish the match and get its first win. The Redhawks scored the final seven points straight to secure the victory. Pasquantonio dealt the final kill to send Saint Rose home with the loss.
Roberts (1-12, 0-3 ECC) will look to carry momentum forward into Tuesday's match against D'Youville where the Redhawks can pick up their first conference win of the season. Match time is set for 7 p.m. on D'Youville's campus.
