Women's Volleyball Catholic Athletic Communications

Cardinals Battle Past Blue Jays to Advance to Volleyball Semifinals

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic volleyball team is headed to the Landmark Conference Semifinals after a thrilling five-set victory over Elizabethtown in Tuesday evening's First Round matchup. The Cardinals battled through a late Blue Jay comeback, ultimately defeating them 3-2.

The Blue Jays struck first to open the night, but the Cardinals quickly took control with a 6-1 run that set the tone early. Catholic was able to build a 20-8 lead over Elizabethtown, but they fought back to narrow the gap. The Cardinals held firm, taking the set one 25-18. Catholic out-hit the visitors 14 kills to nine, with Julia Turchiano, Erin Faughnan, and Juliette Cummings picking up three apiece.

Set two brought a tighter contest, with the teams trading points deep into the set. After a back-and-forth between the teams, Catholic found a lead. A late surge from Elizabethtown tied it up at 20, but Catholic maintained composure. The Cardinals and the Blue Jays battled it out until the end when a timely kill from Julia Raab and a service ace from Anna Maria Carella sealed the deal for the Cardinals, taking the set 26-24. Raab began to shine in set two, adding eight kills to bring her into the double digits with 10 in just two sets.

Elizabethtown responded in the third, kicking off the set by going 4-0 over the Cardinals. They found their groove and began to run away with it, leading by as many as nine points over Catholic. Catholic regrouped and fought back within three at 21-18, but the Blue Jays capitalized on late errors to claim the set, 25-18.

The teams were neck-and-neck for nearly the entirety of the fourth set. Catholic held the largest lead of four, but Elizabethtown quickly took it back, continuing the point-for-point play. The two teams were tied at 23 when two kills from the Blue Jays allowed them to claim the fourth 25-23, and force a trip to set five.

Catholic had to bring the heat in the final set, building an early 3-0 lead and never trailing by more than two points. After a consistent battle, Catholic took their largest lead of the set, going up 14-11 to force a Blue Jay timeout. The Cardinals locked in the win with a kill from Raab, taking the final set 15-12, to punch their ticket to the next round.

Raab had a standout performance, recording 22 kills, the third-most by a Catholic Player in Landmark Conference Tournament play. Marin Stensrud also had a stellar defensive showing, tallying 27 digs, tied for the fifth-most ever by a Cardinal in Landmark postseason play. Berra added 29 assists, while Carella followed with 25 assists and three service aces.

As a team, Catholic tied the third-most kills and recorded the second-most digs in program history in a Landmark Conference Tournament match. This marks their first home win in the Landmark Conference Tournament since 2013.

Up next, the Cardinals will head to Scranton, Pa., where they will face off against the second-seeded Scranton Royals. The match is set for Thursday, November 13, at 7 p.m.