The Ramapo College women’s volleyball team faced a tough challenge at home against Rowan University, suffering a 3-0 defeat in their latest New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) matchup. With the loss, the Roadrunners drop to 2-8 overall record and 1-2 in the conference, while the Profs even their record at 7-7 and 1-1 in NJAC play.
From the very beginning, Rowan came out strong and controlled the first two sets. Despite the Roadrunners’ efforts to keep up, the Profs took the first set 25-15 and followed with a 25-13 win in the second. Rowan dominated on offense, posting .221 hitting percentage with 35 kills, while the Roadrunners were held to 22 kills and faced issues with 18 errors. However, Ramapo’s defense fought hard to stay in the game. Senior hitter Emily Shea led the team with seven kills along with two blocks. Senior Amanda Fatouh also played a key role, contributing six kills and leading the team defensively with 11 digs, while freshman Emma Garcia added six.
Fatouh reflected on the team’s performance, “In regards to our game against Rowan on October 3rd, as a team we felt like we were not playing to our highest potential in the first two sets. As a team something we are working on is being strategic throughout the game. During the game we found ourselves thinking too much about mistakes that we had made and plays that we needed to execute on instead of just playing our game.”
Hitter Riley Stewart added four kills, helping the team find some offensive momentum. However, Rowan capitalized on the 18 errors that Ramapo made throughout the match. Overall, the Roadrunners finished the match with 22 kills on 85 attempts.
Junior Katie Bishop played an important role in putting together Ramapo’s offense, recording 18 assists and contributing two aces. Even though Bishop created many opportunities for the Roadrunners, Rowan’s defense stood strong and prevented Ramapo from staying consistent. Junior Kayla Price contributed in all areas of the game, adding two aces, two assists and eight digs.
Bishop also shared her thoughts on the match, “We knew the game on October 3rd was going to be a difficult match as Rowan is known for being a good, well-rounded team. In the last set, we really worked hard to not allow Rowan to go on any runs and take the lead early. We kept up with them for the whole set but ended up falling just short. The game definitely highlighted some things we need to work to develop but also showed that we can keep up with a good team and play as one.”
While the first two sets were dominated by Profs, the Roadrunners came alive in the third, showing some fight. Ramapo came close to extending the match to the fourth set but fell short, with Rowan winning the set 25-23 and sealing the 3-0 victory.
Fatouh commented on this turning point in the third set, “A key moment for us was when we picked up our confidence in the third set and began to fight. Unfortunately, we did not win the set but we were able to prove to ourselves that at the end of the day we all have a passion for the game and want to win we just have to put up a fight from the very beginning in order to capitalize on all of our skills so our opponent can not control the game.”
Ramapo returns to action on Oct. 10 with a non-conference match on the road at 7 p.m. against Centenary University.
@lkelyman@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Peter Bonilla, Ramapo Athletics
