GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. — The No. 5-seeded Pratt Institute women's volleyball team took the opening set in their inaugural Atlantic East Conference tournament appearance but saw their 2024 campaign come to an end with a 3-1 defeat to No. 4-seeded Gwynedd Mercy University in a first round matchup on Tuesday evening.
The Cannoneers won set one 25-20, but the Griffins seized the next three sets, 25-22, 25-15, 25-16.
Colleen Russell led Pratt with a near double-double posting nine kills and nine digs. Emily Sontag registered an 18-assist, 10-dig double-double with two kills and two blocks.
Natalie Dziadzio, Kelsy Padilla, and Anabela Jakelic chipped in five kills each – Dziadzio bringing up nine digs with three blocks (one solo), Padilla adding eight digs, and Jakelic stuffing five blocks (one solo) and hitting .308 on the offensive end. Emma Leavey brought up a team-high 11 digs and served two aces.
Pratt won the first three points of the match before Gwynedd responded with five straight leading until the 10-8 mark when the Cannoneers assembled a 7-1 run and remained on top for good. The Griffins pulled back within two at 21-19 but the black-and-gold closed out the set on a 4-1 spurt.
A back-and-forth second stanza saw Pratt build an early 8-5 lead but the Griffins rattled off a 12-2 run for a 17-10 advantage. After calling timeout, Pratt assembled a 10-2 run to take the lead briefly at 20-19, but the Griffins leveled the match winning the final four of five points in the frame.
Gwynedd found their rhythm in the third and fourth sets totalling 10 kills in each frame and used decisive runs midway through each frame to pull away from Pratt and advance to the semifinals.
Pratt concludes their first season in the Atlantic East Conference with a 7-16 overall record. Gwynedd Mercy improves to 17-10 and advances to face top-seeded Marymount University in an AEC semifinal on Thursday.
