The women’s volleyball team won their 16th consecutive set on Tuesday night, and their seventh match in a row, with a victory over William Paterson on Tuesday.
The Roadrunners improved to 11-3 on the season and earned a win in their first NJAC matchup of the season.
Head coach Robert Pichardo has given his team a lot of praise over the last week of matches.
“[We’re] keeping the consistency that we are working in practice,” said Pichardo. “Having the set streak is great, because we are able to see our potential and say ‘you know what? We can do this.’”
In the first set, the Pioneers gave Ramapo a run for their money, with the Roadrunners hitting just .180 in the set. However, they took the set 25-19, followed by 25-14 and 25-13 victories in the second and third sets, respectively.
Larysa Iwaskiw led the game with 25 kills, 11 of them in the first set.
She, like Pichardo, said that the hard work in practice is paying off on the court.
“We have been working really hard in practice on serve receive and defense, which is allowing us to get better passes to the setters and spreading our offense,” said the junior outside hitter. “We are also staying mentally tough and focusing on playing our game and getting the job done.”
Pichardo added that the chemistry on the team is great.
“It is great to see the chemistry that we have and being able to continue the same level of consistency and discipline,” he said.
The team lost key pieces from last year, including setter Kaitlin Mac Iver, but Pichardo said he has a lot of options that he can use on the court.
Pichardo has used senior outside hitter Rachel Selmore, and freshman Kate Shirkey often as a setter. They had 22 and 21 assists yesterday, respectively.
“It’s a good problem to have,” he said.
Even though it is a different look for the Roadrunners this year, Iwaskiw said the team has stayed positive – which is easy to do on a seven-game winning streak.
“Everyone has stepped it up to make the team the best it can be,” said Iwaskiw. “No matter what position everyone is put in, we do a great job of working hard and supporting each other.”
The Roadrunners hit .318 as a team, with 52 kills on 132 attempts. Freshman Samantha Main led the Roadrunners with three blocks, while sophomore Kristen Behrens led the team with 17 digs.
The Roadrunners will take on eight-time defending NJAC champions Stockton next week after a three-game road trip.
“Stockton is always great every year, but if we continue to work hard in practice and over the weekend I think we will see great results in the future,” said Iwaskiw.
Before they face Stockton, the Roadrunners are in action tonight as they travel to to NJCU for their second straight NJAC matchup.
rmorik@ramapo.edu