BROOKLYN , N.Y. — The Pratt Institute women's volleyball team topped Lehman College in four sets in its home opener Thursday, winning 23-25, 25-17, 25-7, 25-22 at the Pratt Institute ARC for its first victory of the season and the first under Head Coach Gary Preston Jr.
Colleen Russell (Asbury, N.J.) opened the scoring with a kill on Pratt's first point, but Lehman (0-1) rallied from a 14-14 tie to take control of the opening set, building a two-point cushion at 24-22 for two set points. Pratt (1-2) saved one on a kill from Emma Hwang (Dallas, Texas), but the Lightning closed it out on the next point, 25-23.
Pratt trailed by as many as seven in the second set, down 15-8, before ripping off an 8-0 run to seize a 16-15 lead. Zoe Broerman (Cincinnati, Ohio) served two aces during the surge, and Hwang capped it with a kill assisted by Russell. Pratt never trailed again, taking the set 25-17.
Pratt turned set three into a rout, riding a 14-0 run keyed by Hwang's serving — three aces mixed with a string of Lehman errors — to build a 17-1 cushion. Russell added four kills during the stretch, and the Cannoneers cruised to a 25-7 win.
Set four proved tighter. Pratt built an early 11-4 cushion behind a 7-0 run, but Lehman answered to tie the set three times, last at 22-22. The Cannoneers closed on three straight points, capped by a Sontag-Russell block and a Russell kill, sealing the match, 25-22.
Russell finished with a match-high 18 kills on .385 hitting – one kill shy of matching her career high. Hwang directed the offense with 18 assists and served four aces, while Eden Shih (New York, N.Y.) dished out 17 assists. Broerman paced the defense with 15 digs, and Kelsy Padilla (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added nine kills and 13 digs.
Pratt out-hit Lehman .153 to -.033 and held a 44-24 edge in kills.
Chloe Colon and Alanis Vasquez each had five kills to lead the Lightning, and Ayah Hamdaoui recorded a double-double with 15 assists and 11 digs.
Pratt returns to action against Willoughby Avenue rivals St. Joseph's University, Brooklyn on Monday, Sept. 14 starting at 6 p.m.
