NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The Holy Cross volleyball team fell by a 3-0 score to non-conference foe Central Connecticut during the first day of the Iona Tournament Friday afternoon in New York.
 
SET SCORES:

• Central Connecticut 3, Holy Cross 0 (15-25, 15-25, 12-25)

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Central Connecticut took a 5-0 edge before the Crusaders gained a point back. Trailing 6-1, a block on the left pin by sophomores Abbie Lane and Lauren Halverson cut the deficit to 6-2. Lane floated in a kill on the left side to stop the Blue Devil scoring stretch at 12-5. A Crusader ball handling error moved it to a nine-point set in favor of CCSU. Three consecutive Crusader points pulled them within six, 17-11. A Margaret Nolan ace wrapped up the first set victory.
• Holy Cross took their first lead of the match in the second set following a long rally in which Lane powered home a kill on the far pin. Back-to-back Blue Devil attack errors pushed the margin to 4-1 in the early going. Four straight markers for CCSU regained the lead at 6-5. With the second set deadlocked 8-8 CCSU began to pull away thanks to seven points in a row to lead 15-8. A freshman Rachel Johnson kill coupled with a Halverson mash and a ball handling miscue made it 18-14 before CCSU tacked on five straight.
• Isabelle Roufs put her team ahead 5-2 in the third set. A sophomore Sarah Stokes to junior Sanaea Simmons connection and a Lane ace put the Crusaders down one, 7-6. However, the Blue Devils went on a 13-3 outburst to pull away from Holy Cross.

 
INSIDE THE BOX:

• Lane, Johnson, and Simmons paved the way for Holy Cross with three kills apiece.
• Halverson hit a team-best .400 in the match off five attempts.
• Senior Emma VanSeveren chipped in nine digs.
• For CCSU, Weronika Poczynek recorded a match-high 12 kills while Roufs produced eight kills and a .538 hitting percentage.

 
UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross will play two matches tomorrow, an 11 a.m. affair with host Iona and a 2:30 p.m. showdown against Providence.

 
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