The Ramapo College women’s volleyball team had its season come to a disappointing end on Tuesday via elimination from the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) playoffs by the No. 2 Kean Cougars, with the final score being 3-1. The Roadrunners end the season with an even .500 record, including a 3-5 NJAC record.
Kean set the tone from the very beginning, getting out to a quick 2-0 lead by scores of 25-14 and 25-7. Ramapo had no answers for Ashley Smith and Taylor Micheaux, who combined for 12 kills over the first two sets with their powerful spikes between Ramapo players. Smith finished the match with 15 kills and seven digs and Micheaux ended with 11 kills. A lot of their success can be attributed to Aspen O’Brien, who had a match-leading 45 assists.
Ramapo bounced back to take the third set 25-21. The set for the Roadrunners was highlighted by three kills each by Stephanie Ross and Caleigh Golabek. Ramapo was also helped out by errors. The team committed just two errors while Kean committed 11.
In this set, Ramapo got out to an early 6-4 lead. Following that was a six-point streak by Kean. However, Ramapo stood strong and did not allow the Cougars to gain any momentum and the team eventually went on to winning the set.
In the fourth and final set, Kean put the match away with a score of 25-13. Ramapo fell into a quick 9-2 deficit and was never able to claw its way back into the match, only able to cut the lead to as little as four. As Kean collected its final point, Ramapo coach Robert Pichardo talked to his team on the court for the final time this season.
Other notable players for Ramapo in the match were Riley Stewart, who had five kills and two blocks, and Emma Morgan, who had a team-high two aces while also tallying seven digs on defense.
Alexandra Sacchinelli led Ramapo in assists with 15 and right behind her was Katie Bishop who had 12. Additionally, Jenna Stolker contributed six digs.
As a team, Ramapo had 31 kills on 111 attempts and posted 26 combined errors. Kean dominated Ramapo in hits as the Cougars hit .361 while Ramapo hit just .045. The Roadrunners did have more blocks, recording five to Kean’s three.
Despite the season not ending how Ramapo hoped, the No. 6 seed in the NJAC Tournament still experienced a lot of worthwhile moments and made memories to reflect back on fondly.
bschmid@ramapo.edu
Photo courtesy of Ramapo Athletics.
