Mountaineer Women’s Volleyball Breaks 22 Match Losing Streak
BENNINGTON, Vt. - The Southern Vermont College women's volleyball team broke a 22 match losing streak as they defeated Johnson State College 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-23, 27-25) Saturday. Senior captain Kayleigh Moretto led SVC with 11 kills, three digs, and one ace.
The win is the first for Head Coach Carmine Garofalo and improved the Mountaineers to 1-4 overall.
"In just a few short weeks that our girls have been playing together, they have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to change and handle pressure," said SVC Head Coach Carmine Garofalo.
Sophomore captain Tasha Smith also played well posting nine kills, three assists, three aces, seven digs, and three blocks for Southern Vermont.
The Mountaineers came out cold in the first set losing 25-22 but after scoring a few points in the second set SVC cruised to victory 25-14 with a stellar hitting percentage of .409 to tie up the match at 1-1 in the best of five series.
While sets three and four were only won by two points the win painted a different picture from last season's 0-22 team with a turnaround in both technique and athleticism under Coach Garofalo in only the first two weeks of the season.
"The girls have been working hard developing their fundamentals and improving their volleyball I.Q. Their hard work has already paid off as can be seen by the reduced errors and positive hitting stats."
The Mountaineers lost to Anna Maria College 3-0 (19-25, 17-25, 15-25) in the first match of the day. Moretto and Smith led Southern Vermont with kills with three and five respectively.
SVC is slated to host University of Maine Machias on Sunday, September 20th at 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
"This weekend's win is a testament to the hard work the girls have put in and to their ability, confidence and poise to compete and win. With their positive attitudes, strong work ethics and terrific team-work, I expect us to be competitive against every team we play this year," said Coach Garofalo.
