Northampton, Mass. - Junior MH Molly Bernstein (Oakland, Calif.) finished the match with a season-high 13 kills to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a volleyball victory over the Smith College Pioneers in a five-set nail bitter at the Smith Alumnae Gymnasium on Friday night. Five Bantams finished with six or more kills to push the squad's overall record to 4-6. Trinity heads further North tomorrow to face Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the hosts in a tri-match at Massachusetts College.
Trinity came out strong with 12 points from kills in the first set, allowing them to pull through a close win, 25-23. After falling in the second set, 25-15, and a close third set, 25-22, the Bantams bounced back to take the fourth set, 25-22. Trinity sealed the deal by winning the fifth set, 15-8. Trinity sophomore OH Lola Craig (Los Angeles, Calif.) added seven kills, while junior Ally Conde (Danielson, Conn.) and first-year Eva Lekovic (San Marino, Calif.) each contributed six kills. Senior L Natalia Ortiz (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) had a strong defensive game for the Bantams, leading the team with 12 digs, while Locke Luhnow (Encino, Calif.) finished with 17 assists. Natalie Pak (Lexington, Mass.) led Smith's offense with a game high of 42 assists and five kills. The Pioneers were paced by Fiona Hegarty (Tustin, Calif.) who had 11 kills and Olivia Smith (Mill Valley, Calif.) and Ava Zollinger (Orlando, Fla.) weren't far behind with 10 and nine kills, respectively.
The Bantams had a steady first set, asBernstein came out of the gates firing and rounded up six kills. The Pioneers went on a run to tie the set at 18-18. The set was neck-and-neck from that point on, however Trinity was able to pull away leading them to a 25-23 victory. The Pioneers used an 8-2 run early in the second set to take control and win by 10. The teams played an evenly-matched third set with the Pioneers on the right side of an 8-3 lead. Trinity fought their way back on consistent attacking by Margaret McCarthy (San Diego, Calif.) and Bernstein. The Bantams knotted the game up at 14-all but fell short by three. The Bantams' scored nine times on kills, including the last two by Bernstein and Craig, to take the fourth set. In the clincher, the Bantams rose quickly to a 5-1 lead. The Pioneers scored the next two points before Trinity rattled off six points in a row to go up, 9-3. Bantam kills by Craig, Conde, and Lekovic contributed to a 14-7 lead and a bad set by Smith sealed the deal.
