DePalma Dawns CACC Weekly Honor Roll
New Haven, Conn. – (11/11/2013) – En route to becoming the first Griffin in the 1,000-kill club, Chestnut Hill College senior outside hitter
Alexandra DePalma (Shillington, Pa.) earned a mention on the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Weekly Honor Roll. DePalma totaled 28 kills and averaged 4.8 points-per-set to reach the career milestone in Griffins final two matches.
On Wednesday night, Chestnut Hill College (9-21, 7-12) was the victor first time in program history against local CACC rival Holy Family University. The Griffins dominated the match, dispatching the Tigers 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 27-25) behind 16 kills from DePalma. She was a machine in the opening set, providing six kills in the frame to help the Griffins stay a couple points behind the Tigers before rallying for a 25-22 victory, 1-0. The second set started the same way, but the Griffins came on early this time, knotting the score at 12-12 before pacing the Tigers to a 25-19 final, 2-0. The third set was never separated by more than two points until the visitors managed to steal a 22-19 advantage late in the frame. Fortunately, the Griffin defense was clutch with two timely blocks spurring them on an 8-3 closing run, 3-0.
The 2013 season came to a close on Saturday, November 9, with the Griffins visiting Concordia College for their final Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) match. With a 3-0 win (25-22, 25-20, 25-21) the Clippers overshadowed DePalma career accomplishment as the Griffins outside hitter surpassed the 1,000-kill mark with 12 successful strikes in the match. The opening set was closely played to a 13-13 tie before the Griffins separated for a brief 19-17 edge. Unfortunately, the advantage was erased quickly by the Clippers, who went to senior outside hitter Irina Impellittiere (Cold Spring, N.Y.) to rally for a 25-22 win, 1-0. The second set became a runaway for the Clippers who took a 15-10 lead before holding off the Griffins in a 25-20 frame, 2-0. Unfortunately, the third quickly took on the same tempo with the Clippers mounting a 16-10 lead before closing the afternoon on a 25-21 win, 3-0.
DePalma blossomed in her sophomore season, recording a program record 383 kills on the way to the team’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award and an All-CACC Second Team selection. She took on captain duties in her junior season and once again served as one of the Griffins top performers with 208 kills and 276 digs in 25 matches. As a senior, DePalma came on late in the year to finish second on the team in kills (323), aces (23), and digs (409).
