Box Score
Purchase, NY (Sept. 30, 2013) – A smashing Alex Lally kill put the finishing touches on a monumental moment for new Purchase head coach Marc Solondz Monday night at home.
Lally (FR/Sunnyvale, TX) delivered the match-winning point in game four to seal a dramatic come-from-behind victory for the Panthers and Solondz, who in the process, won the 100th match of his career. Lally's highlight-reel kill captured a 3-1 win for Purchase over York College (NY).
Solondz, who started wearing a different pair of signature sneakers for every match of the season a few years ago, handpicked a pair of skateboard kicks, branded "O Siris," for the match. In search of some good luck, this pair came through in the clutch, Solondz said afterward as Purchase snapped a three-match losing streak.
"A great win for us," said Solondz, who the team corralled in the atrium of the gym building and celebrated the milestone win by showering their head coach with water and Gatorade. "That victory helped get us back on track and it was nice to have the 100th win come here at home."
Solondz has totaled more than 100 wins as a coach at the college level, having won championships and many a regular season matches at his previous collegiate job, NYU-POLY, as both a head and assistant coach, but he said Monday night's victory at Purchase is one of the best in recent memory – largely in part for having already turned around a struggling program in his first season as a Panther head coach.
More fans continue to flock to the matches and there is an energy around the team that has been sorely lacking in recent years, many spectators commented.
The buzz in the building came to its height when Lally recorded the match-winning point in the fourth set after Purchase had dropped the opening game, 25-18. The Panthers rallied in another back-and-forth affair, winning the second set, 25-22, in a game where both teams traded point-after-point. That second set opened the proverbial flood gates in game three as the Panthers closed 25-9 to take a 2-1 lead.
But the fourth set wouldn't come easy, as York responded to the challenge and played the Panthers much the way it had in sets one and two. The final set mirrored the second set as Purchase rebounded for a 26-24 game four win.
The match line finished as 18-25, 25-22, 25-9, 26-24 for the Panthers.
Lally led the way with 17 kills and a strong .314 hitting percentage. Alicia McCarthy (FR/Plano, TX) added 13 kills and Cathryn Mulvey (SR/Scarsdale, NY) chipped in 11. Lally also totaled 20 digs on the night, while teammate Olivia Schoeller (FR/Ronkonkoma, NY) handed out a match-high 34 assists.
The entire roster made contributions, including opposite Jade Hackett (SO/Mount Vernon, NY), libero Leticia Barrientos (JR/Elmsford, NY), middle hitter Moneace Smith (JR/San Francisco, CA), defensive specialists Olivia Gelsinger (SO/East Aurora, NY), Mildi Rodriguez (JR/Yonkers, NY) and LeiAnna Frazier (SR/Brooklyn, NY).
In defeat, York was led by Carlean McCrimmon and her team-high nine kills. York falls to 2-13 in the loss.
The Panthers are now 4-5 overall and will travel to USMMA Wednesday.
As for Solondz and his record-setting night, you could say if the sneaker fits, he wore it en route to No. 100.
