CHC spikers clawed by Cougars

by TOM UTESCHER

The visiting Cougars of College Misericordia spoiled Chestnut Hill College’s home volleyball debut last Tuesday evening, knocking off the Griffins in straight games, 30-22, 30-19, 30-19.

Chestnut Hill is searching for some continuity at the helm of the team, as this fall the Griffins greeted a new head coach for the third year in a row. Their latest mentor is Matt Kerr, who was formerly an assistant coach at Neshaminy High School. He also gained experience in the sport while serving as the manager and team assistant for the women’s volleyball squad at Temple University.

In the opening game of Tuesday’s tilt, Misericordia stepped out to a 4-0 lead and the Griffins were forced to play catch-up, pulling even at 8-8 on one of a dozen Cougar errors in the game. The visitors went ahead again, but once more the locals leveled the count, 15-all, on a hit by senior Jen Banks. Thanks to a pair of unreturned serves by fellow senior Christine Corbo and two Misericordia miscues, the Griffs garned four of the next five points to go up 19-16.

Misericordia then ran off five straight points to take the lead for good, eventually capturing game point when CHC was called for four touches on the ball. Banks and sophomore Patricia Dewey each had three kills in the game.

The Cougars’ confidence carried over into the second game in the form of an early 8-1 advantage, as miscommunication on the hosts’ side led to some flawed service returns and other mistakes. The visitors made their share of errors, too, but the problem was that Chestnut Hill relied on these miscues for almost all of their offense. Of the Griffins’ 19 points, 16 resulted from blown plays by Misericordia, including five serves into the net or over the endline. Banks registered two kills and Dewey one, but the locals never really got back into the game after falling behind at the start.

The Cougars hit the ball out over the right sideline to give Chestnut Hill the first point of game three, then the visitors ran off five straight and let the rest of the way en route to another 30-19 win. With Banks chalking up two kills and with freshman Jordan Braakman scoring on a hit and a tip over the Cougar blockers, CHC only trailed 20-18 fairly late in the game, but Misericordia put together a 10-1 run to end the match.

UPDATE - On September 9 the Griffins defeated visiting Delaware Valley College, 3-2, for their first victory of the season.