LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Cairn University women's volleyball team won, 3-2 (19-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 15-12) in their biggest test of the 2022 campaign thus far at home against non-conference adversary John Jay College in five sets on Tuesday evening.
"This is the type of game we've been training all season for - a gritty, point-for-point battle that requires us to play with confidence and for each other." remarked Head Coach
Whitney Seidel.
"We weren't perfect, but we consistently leaned into our strengths and let our serving and defense fuel the other phases of the game. I would have been so proud with how we carried ourselves even if the final score had ended differently, but to pull out a win makes it that much sweeter."
John Jay (6-3), boasting a 5-1 record on the road entering the contest, took the early advantage following a 25-19 victory in set one to take a 1-0 match lead. Cairn (9-2) responded with a matching 25-19 triumph in set two to even up the match a one a-piece. In set three, both teams battled back-and-forth in an evenly contested tilt that resulted in a narrow, 25-23 victory for the Bloodhounds to take a 2-1 match lead. With their backs against the wall, the Highlanders jetted out to a 20-10 lead in set four, before the Bloodhounds mounted a furious comeback to the tune of seven-straight points to cut the deficit to just three (20-17). John Jay got the Highlander advantage to two (24-22) at its lowest point, but a kill by senior
Kali Burres-Cheeley (Wanaque, NJ / Hawthorne Christian) ended the comeback and sent the match to a fifth-and final set. The Bloodhounds stormed out to a 7-3 lead in the decisive fifth set, but Cairn ignited an 8-5 run to trim the deficit to just one (12-11). From that point, fifth-year
Allison Barnes (Macungie, PA / Salem Christian) went to work, hammering home three consecutive kills, and capping off the evening with a solo block to seal a well-earned, five-set victory for the Highlanders.
Cairn was led statistically by Barnes who slammed down a match-high 16 kills to the tune of a .406 hitting percentage to go along with five service aces (matching classmate
Caroline Bennett (Little Silver, NJ / Red Bank Regional)) and three blocks (two solo). Sophomore
Hendryl Peabody (Bensalem, PA / Faith Baptist Christian Academy) followed as Cairn's go-to offensive option on the evening, swinging a career-high 41 times, registering nine kills and two blocks. Burres-Cheeley added eight kills and 18 digs, while sophomore
Caroline Conrad (Bangkok, Thailand / International Community School) paced the defensive effort with a team-high 23 digs to go along with seven kills. Junior
Olivia Zepp (Westminster, MD / Francis Scott Key) dished out a team-high 36 assists and matched Burres-Cheeley with 18 digs, while senior
Lizzy Fay (Langhorne, PA / Neshaminy) added 12 digs. As a team, the Highlanders executed their gameplan, holding John Jay's reigning CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Player of the Week,
Faith Harer to a negative hitting percentage (-.020) on 51 total attempts.
The Highlanders will be back on the floor on Thursday, September 29 when they welcome Albright College to Langhorne for their final non-conference tilt before the beginning of Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play. First serve is in the air at 7 p.m.
