Lady Knights Split Matches at Dig Pink!

10.07.19

Warwick, R.I. – October 7, 2019: The CCRI Lady Knights volleyball team hosted 2019 CCRI Dig Pink Tri-Match on Saturday versus the Falcons of Fischer College, a 4-year college, and the Division I Mustangs of Monroe College. In the Dig Pink Tri-match all of the teams wore pink uniforms or warmups in order to raise awareness for women’s cancers just like many other female sports have as a Pink Out. The Lady Knights split their two matches defeating the Falcons of Fischer in a five set thriller 3-2 but falling to Division I powerhouse Mustangs of Monroe College 0-3. With the split the Lady Knights are now 12-6 overall.

CCRI defeats Fischer College 3-2: 25-18, 9-25, 25-23, 18-25 & 15-13

The Lady Knights knew they would be in for a tough match versus a 4-year school varsity team in the Falcons of Fischer College. The Lady Knights, however, were up for the task as they were able to gut out an exciting five set victory 3-2 to open the 2019 CCRI Dig Pink event. This match had many ebbs and flows as the Lady Knights had to figure out ways to get by a much more experienced team but CCRI was able to find a way to win.

In the first set the Lady Knights won convincingly 25-18 but in the second set the wheels seemed to fall off as the fell 25-9. Head Coach Pat Chin was able to refocus the Lady Knights and they regained the winning form and won by the narrowest of margins 25-23. In the fourth set Fischer made more adjustments to beat CCRI 25-18. In the fifth set tiebreaker the Lady Knights were determined to pull off the victory on their home court. CCRI quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead but Fischer battled back to cut the lead to 6-4 before CCRI called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout CCRI went on a 9-6 run to close out the first match with a gutty 15-10 victory to take the match 3-2.

Leading the way for the Lady Knights was Alexis Baffoni (Coventry, RI) who played her best match in a Lady Knights uniform with a career-high 15 Kills and 20 Digs while adding three aces. Also having a big match was Sydney Trudeau (Cumberland, RI) with six Kills, an aces and six Digs. Gabriella Blumenstock (Warwick, RI) also had an excellent all-around match with four Kills, an Ace and 17 Digs. Marilyn McKay (Warwick, RI) also had a very good match with five Kills and Sophomore Yelianni Soto Reyes (Providence, RI) added two Kills and three Solo Blocks. Setter Joanna Wong (Cranston, RI) did a marvelous job directing the Lady Knights offense with a career-high 31 Assists.

CCRI falls to DI Monroe College 0-3: 10-25, 15-25 and 9-25

The Division I Mustangs were, in a word, dominant. They had size, speed quickness and athleticism on a level that the Lady Knights have not seen this year. The Mustangs also play with that brash New York swagger that pushes the boundaries of sportsmanship which was another distracting element that may have helped impede the Lady Knights’ success. The Mustangs made quick work of CCRI winning emphatically in three straight sets.

Leading the way for CCRI was Sydney Trudeau with five Kills and an Ace. Marilyn McKay had three Kills and two Solo Blocks. Yelianni Soto Reyes had four Kills and Alexis Baffoni added three Kills. Though the match was not won by CCRI they showed tremendous grace and class as they gave their best on the court and played hard until the final whistle versus a formidable and brash Division I opponent.

The next match for the Lady Knights will be Tuesday 8th when they travel to Worcester, MA to play the Wyverns in a Region XXI interleague match starting at 6pm.

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The Community College of Rhode Island, New England's largest comprehensive community college, enrolls nearly 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in non-credit and job training classes. Its athletic program boasts 12 varsity programs and an academic support program for all student-athletes.