SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Bard College women's volleyball team was defeated by Liberty League foe, Union College, in straight sets Friday night.
Set scores for the contest were 25-17, 25-23 and 25-17.
With the loss, the Raptors fell to 4-16 overall and 0-4 in the Liberty League. The Dutchwomen of Union meanwhile, improved to 10-12 overall and 1-3 in league play.
Union opened the first set by scoring the first five points of the match, which set the tone for its performance on the night. The hosts hit .314 in the frame and led by as many as 11 points en route to the first-set victory.
While the Raptors struggled early to find their hitting groove, things improved in the second set, as Bard nearly took the frame.
The second set saw each side play a back-and-forth battle, as neither side could pull away from the other. That moment of separation finally came late in the frame with the score tied at 21-all.
Union scored three straight points via a Bard setting error, a kill and a Bard attacking error, which put the Dutchwomen one point from victory.
The Raptors responded with a kill from
Alexis Akingbade and a serving ace from
Lia Taus to cut the deficit to 24-23.
However, Union would put the set away on the next play, thanks to a kill from Stephanie Libonati (Pacific Palisades, CA).
In the final set of the evening, things again opened tight as the biggest lead in the set was just three points midway through. The Dutchwomen were finally able to pull out the victory late, thanks to a 9-3 scoring run.
On the night, Bard hit .020 overall, while Union was slightly better, finishing with a .183 hitting percentage.
Akingbade led the Raptors with eight kills in the effort.
Jewel Smith recorded 20 assists and
Emily Anastasi collected 21 digs.
Philippine Alba added six kills and 14 digs in the loss.
Gillian Gore (Bronx, NY) led all players with 15 kills and Sage Shimamoto (Hillsborough, CA) tallied 24 assists for Union.
Up next for Bard is a quick turnaround, as the team hosts Skidmore College tomorrow (10/7) at 4 p.m. You can follow that game right here.
