Concord, NH - On Saturday, September 9th, the CMCC volleyball team played a double-header against Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and Paul Smith's College and was able to walk with two big wins.
The first match was against ACPHS and although the Mustangs walked away with a 3-set win, (25-14, 25-16, 25-13) they did not play up to their potential. The first and second set of the game proved rough for the Mustangs. There were many unforced errors and the mustangs ultimately handed ACPHS almost all of their points. While the third set still did not showcase the Mustangs abilities, the girls were more under control and were able to start playing a cleaner version of volleyball. Even with their struggles, the Mustangs were able to serve aggressively putting up a total of 21 aces. Angelina Leonard, Tiara Begishe, and Gia Cooper each had 5 aces.
In the second match of the double header, CM took on Paul Smith's College. Last season, after losing twice to Paul Smith in the regular season, the Mustangs won in a tough 5 sets match to win the YSCC Conference Championship and advance to the USCAA National Tournament. This match turned out to be just as dramatic, and the Mustangs were able to win in 5 sets (25-19, 25-27, 26-28, 25-12, 15-8). During the first set, the Mustangs were able to come out strong and maintain that energy throughout, taking the first set handily. The Mustangs lost some of their energy during the 2nd and 3rd set and struggled at times. Even with the unforced errors, sets 2 and 3 were incredibly close throughout but the Mustangs ultimately dropped sets 2 and 3 by two points. Now down 2 sets to 1, the team knew it was all or nothing for the fourth set and stepped onto the court ready to fight. Spurred by several service aces from Gia Cooper, the Mustang's jumped out to a quick lead, and were able cruse to an easy win in set 4. The fifth and final set started off with back-and-forth points between the teams and were tied 5-5. Things changed when Sage Cormier got to the service line. She was able to help the Mustangs earn a big lead with an ace and several other tough serves to get Paul Smith's out of system. From that point on the Mustangs were able to roll, winning the 5th set 15-8.
On the match the Mustangs combined for 22 aces. Gia Cooper and Angelina Leonard lead the team in aces with 7 each. Gia also led the team with 13 total kills.
After the match Coach Chapman said, "I am really happy with how the day went. We played hard and battled through a gritty, up and down match. I am really happy with how they were able to bounce back after adversity. It also shows us some stuff that we need to work on, and I am excited to get back into the gym to start refining some of those things."
The Mustangs will be back at Kirk Hall this coming Tuesday to take on the Herons of Great Bay Community College.
