WAYNE, N.J. – Behind a team-high 15 kills from Olivia Julich, the Pratt Institute women's volleyball team picked up a 3-1 result over Farmingdale State College in a neutral site battle on Saturday afternoon. The Cannoneers are now winners of three of their last four and stand at 6-8 overall, after falling to host William Paterson 3-1 in the day's first match.
In the opener against William Paterson (12-4), Josie Johnson put down 10 kills on .318 hitting with as many digs for a double-double. Julich and Emily Sontag chipped in eight kills each. Gabby Genduso handed out 16 assists and Hannah Leitten added 10 helpers.
The Pioneers controlled the first two sets, 25-12, 25-16, before the Cannoneers came on strong in the third set in a 25-21 victory. The black-and-gold battled in a close fourth set trying to level the match. The Cannoneers used a 4-0 run to take a late 20-19 lead but couldn't hold on to force a deciding set.
Against the Rams (5-9), Julich paced the attack with 15 kills and three aces while Johnson contributed eight kills and a pair of aces. Sontag also chipped in five kills and three assists with Genduso dishing out 19 assists.
The Cannoneers trailed Farmingdale in kills, 47-33, but dominated from the service line and at the net finishing with a 15-8 edge in aces and an 8-3 advantage in blocks.
The opening set saw nine ties and three lead changes and Pratt prevailed in extra points after erasing three Farmingdale set points and winning the set, 28-26, on back-to-back aces from Julich. Pratt took a 2-0 set lead after a comfortable 25-13 win in set two before the Rams took the third set by the same margin.
In the fourth frame, the Cannoneers won the first six points of the set but saw that lead vanish and found themselves trailing midway through the set, 16-14. But the black-and-gold regained their composure and responded with a 6-1 run to go back on top 20-17 and remained ahead winning the final six of seven points to close out the victory.
Pratt has 10 days off from competition and travels to City College of New York on Tuesday, October 17 for a 7 p.m. showdown.
