A thrilling five set match saw the Chestnut Hill College women's volleyball get back on the winning track with a 3-2 win over Dominican University at Sorgenti Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Griffins improve to 5-18 overall and 2-9 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference games, the Chargers fall to 6-13 overall and 3-7 in league play.
Chestnut Hill won the first two sets 26-24 and 25-22 before Dominican charged back to tie the match by winning the next two sets 25-10 and 29-27. The Griffins then took the match with a hard fought 18-16 win in the fifth set.
Maya Hopson led three Griffins with ten or more kills, recording a team-high 19. Nicole Dimiris added 15 while Kate Hanley contributed 11. Sofia Rodriguez recorded 54 assists, a conference single game best this season, setting up the Griffin offense.
Alex Crespin had a team high four aces while Rodriguez, Sarah Allen and Lilian Bandel had two apiece.
On the defensive side, Dimiris had a season high eight blocks with Hopson added five. Allen and Bandel led the team with 11 digs apiece. Rodriguez and Crespin added eight while Ayla Mirachi chipped in six.
The first set featured 12 ties and six lead changes with the Chargers pulling ahead late in the set. Dominican was serving for the set, up 24-22 when Sadie Bayko delivered a kill to cut the deficit to one. Crespin then proceeded to serve three straight aces to give the Griffins the win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Griffins opened up a six point lead midway through the second set at 14-8 only to see the chargers come back with a 9-3 run to tie the score at 17-17. A kill from Hanley and two straight kills from Dimiris put the Griffins in charge as they later opened up a 24-20 lead. Two points from the Chargers cut the deficit in half before Hopson delivered a kill to give the Griffins a 25-22 win in the set and a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Dominican led wire-to-wire in the third set as the Griffins could not get on track, eventually falling 25-10. The Chargers recorded 15 kills without an error in the set.
In the fourth set, Dominican held a 16-10 lead before closing within one 18-17 with a 7-2 run. The Griffins later tied the score and took a 24-23 lead and were serving for the set and the match when the Chargers tied thew score again. Both teams exchanged points with a kill from Micah McKenzie again had the Griffins serving for the match leading 27-26. The Chargers tied the score again and two Griffin attack errors gave the visitors the set 29-27, forcing a decisive fifth set.
Chestnut Hill's attack produced 11 total kills in the final set as they jumped out to an early 8-4 lead as the teams switched sides for the conclusion of the set. Dominican rallied to tie the score at 14-14 before Dimiris put the Griffins one point away from winning the match with a kill to lead 15-14. Dominican then recorded two kills to put the Chargers one point away, 16-15. Dimiris and Hopson had back-to-back kills, and the Griffins were ahead 17-16 again. With Crespin serving, the Charger committed an attack error to give the Griffins the final point they needed to win the match, 3-2 with an 18-16 win in the final set.
The women's volleyball team returns to action on Thursday, November 6, 2025 with a match at Wilmington University. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
