(Courtesy of yumacs.com) The Yeshiva University women’s volleyball team earned its first win of the season, knocking off York College (N.Y.) by a score of 3-1, at the York College Gymnasium last week. Set scores were 21-25, 25-23, 25-15, and 25-21.
“The girls played like a true team tonight,” Yeshiva University head coach Dalliana Toussaint said. “They showed so much fight and passion. The growth that these girls are showing makes me excited for the rest of the season.”
Yeshiva (1-3) was led by sophomore middle blocker Tehilla Teigman, who slammed home a team-high nine kills, and led all players with 12 digs, six service aces and three blocks. Classmate Rebekah Bargaser produced four kills and anchored the defense with 10 digs, while senior outside hitter Batya Schreier contributed defensively with seven digs and scored a pair of aces on offense.
The Maccabees got off to a strong start in the opening set, as an ace by Teigman gave YU a 20-14 advantage. However, York (0-12) rallied with an 11-1 run to steal the first game, 25-21.
In the second stanza, another ace by Teigman put the Maccabees up by four, at 21-17. However, the Cardinals scored the next three points to pull to within one. York would eventually take the lead, 23-22, on back-to-back service aces by Chanelle Quezada. The Maccabees would prevent déjà vu from happening by scoring three unanswered points, capped off by a service ace from Bargaser, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and even the match, 1-1.
In the third game, YU went on a 19-7 run to take a commanding 21-10 advantage. The Cardinals would chip away and pull to within eight, at 23-15. However, the Macs scored the final two points of the set to win it, 25-15, and put the home team on the brink. Teigman clinched the game-victory with a kill.
Yeshiva fell behind, 15-12, in the fourth set. However, sophomore right side hitter Kayla Gross took over the match by scoring three consecutive points, on a kill and back-to-back service aces, to propel Yeshiva to six unanswered points and an 18-15 lead. After the Cardinals narrowed the Maccabees’ lead to two, YU scored four more unanswered points, capped off by a kill from senior middle blocker Abigail Epstein to extend the visiting team’s lead to 22-16. Yeshiva would eventually clinch the set, 25-21, and earn its first match-victory of the season.
For the evening, Epstein had three kills with six digs, while senior libero Melissa Stock added four digs of her own. Senior right side hitter Ilana Karp had a strong match defensively with six digs, while Gross registered four digs.