It’s a Match! Women’s Volleyball Takes Home ECC Title

The NYIT women’s volleyball program won their first East Coast Conference (ECC) championship since 1990. In what would be a nail biter match, the Bears defeated the top-seeded Daemen College Wildcats in four sets (25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 25-20) on the Wildcat’s home turf, November 19. Junior Allison Fowler was named both ECC Tournament MVP and (during a banquet the night before) Setter of the Year. This is the first ECC title under the direction of Head Coach Gail Wasmus.

In the opening set, the Bears crept back from a five-point deficit. Faced with a wide open net, Rachel Guida was able to slam down a kill to tie the game 13-13. Five of the Bears’ opening 15 points were obtained by service errors from the home team, and the Blue and Gold locked the game at 18-18 with a service ace. Tiffany Verni put a good swing on two of her last three attempts in the closing points, forcing Daemen to call a timeout. Moderova capped the set with a kill of her own to push NYIT ahead 1-0 in the match.

In the second set, the Wildcats were able to push out to a 3-0 advantage, which they maintained, until a 4-1 run in favor of the Bears put them at an even 7-7. NYIT took advantage of several miscues from the Daemen offense and Guida and Verni stopped opponent Megan Ballou on set point to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The tables reversed as the third set opened: The Bears led by as much as four, but a 5-1 run by their opponents led to another tie, this time at 18 all. The Wildcats returned from the timeout with a service ace from Wildcat Amber Dryzmala, but another attack error brought the teams back to an even score. Finally, The Dryzmala sisters collected the final two kills of the match to force a fourth set in the Wildcats’ Lumsden Gymnasium.

After Daemen College earned the first point of the fourth set, NYIT responded with a combination of two service aces and attack errors from the hosts to take a 7-1 lead. The Wildcats came back with a vengeance, making it even ground at 9-9, but the Bears were able to stay in command with timely kills and blocks at the net. Guida sent home a kill, which jump started a 6-1 run for the second-seeded Bears. The Wildcats didn’t give up without a fight, and brought the game within three, however, two consecutive kills from Moderova ended the contest with the advantage in favor of NYIT.

The NYIT volleyball team earned the No. 1 seed ahead of the East Region tournament scheduled for December 1-3 . They will face off against local rival Adelphi University in the first round of action at NCAA tournament host Daemen College. The winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to the finals, December 8-10, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.