Box Score
Purchase, NY (Sept. 26, 2013) – With a nice crowd on hand, a see-saw women's volleyball battle nearly went the distance in each set Thursday night at Purchase as Farmingdale State managed to fight off Purchase in a tighter final than the outcome reflected.
FSC earned a 3-0 win, taking the opener 25-19, the second set 25-12 and then the third and final set 25-22, with each team trading points throughout the match, especially the opening and the third sets.
The first set went back-and-forth as FSC and Purchase tied at 14-all before the Rams mounted a strong closing charge.
The Panthers suffered a mild setback in set two as FSC came out firing for an 8-1 lead. The visitors would push the lead and close strong once again.
However, the hosts would show their mettle, trailing early again, this time in the third set. Purchase rallied for a 14-11 lead, highlighted by a resounding kill by Cathryn Mulvey (SR/Scarsdale, NY), a soft and perfectly executed drop shot by rookie Alicia McCarthy (FR/Plano, TX) and a tremendous dig by Olivia Schoeller (FR/Ronkonkoma, NY) that spurred the Panthers back into the match.
Despite the comeback, FSC would respond by putting together a rally of its own, tying the match at 18 apiece and then taking a slim lead at 19-18. Purchase answered back tying the score at 22-all before the Rams utilized one final spurt in closing out the set and the match.
The Rams were led by junior outside hitter Sarah Palladino, who paced and controlled the offense in the shutout win. She finished with a match-high 11 kills.
For the Panthers, McCarthy recorded a team-high seven kills. Schoeller added 15 assists and nine digs.
With the win, first-place FSC improves to 2-0 in Skyline play and 3-16 overall. Purchase is now 3-4 on the fall and 0-1 after dropping its league opener Thursday night.
"I knew this was going to be a good test for us," said Purchase head coach Marc Solondz, who has 99 career wins as a head coach and will try and go for No. 100 again Saturday at CIA. "They are a good team, but there were some good signs from us tonight and we'll continue to go to work to improve match-by-match."
