EAGLES' PLAYERS SHINE AT NEAC WEEKEND BUT THE TEAM COMES UP SHORT

The Eagles flew to Penn State- Abington to take on division foes PS-Harrisburg, Gallaudet University, PS-Abington and PS-Berks.  The weekend brought out some stellar performances out of individual CSE players but those performances were just not enough to push the Eagles over the hump.

In match 1 versus PS-Harrisburg,  the Eagles were out-killed 20-12 but in other areas the Eagles did well. The Eagles hit for 7 aces while Harrisburg hit for 10 and the Eagles outdug Harrisburg 18-17.  Unfortunately,  the match came down to first ball kill production and Harrisburg's offense proved to be too potent for the Eagles.  CSE loses 25-12, 25-8, 25-12.  Captain Chanice Sears was key in the match, leading the team in kills, aces and reception %.

Match 2's opponent for the Eagles was Gallaudet U.  Gallaudet proved to be superior in many facets of the match but the Eagles put on a tremendous effort and showed their grittiness as they wouldn't give in to the apparent athletic and size advantage of Gallaudet.  CSE's inability to convert passes to kills was glaring versus the talented Gallaudet' defense but the Eagles' defense was stellar itself which created some exciting rallies between the squads.  The Eagles succumbed to the relentless pressure 25-4, 25-9, 25-19 but showed drastic improvement in each set and actually ended up with a 29-17 lead in digs for the match.  Unfortunately, the 28-6 kill advantage for Gallaudet was too much too overcome. Captain Carmela Selitto was stellar in serve receive while Chanice Sears, Samantha St. Germain and Kareemah Muhammad anchored the defense with 20 of the team's digs.  Subhana Wrights had a good day out of the MB position, getting 5 blocks on the match.

In match 3,  Eagle miscues late in each set cost the team the victory versus Abington.  The Eagles played Abington nearly even in every statistical category but the errors came at the wrong time for the Eagles and allowed Abington to pull away late in 3 of the 4 sets and seal CSE's fate.  CSE lost a heartbreaker 25-18, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-22.  In the 4th set, the Eagles stormed back from a 21-14 deficit to take the lead 22-21 behind the serving of Maria Machuca but it turned out to be too little to late for CSE.  Chanice Sears led the way with 8 kills while Samantha St. Germain continued her masterful defense and offensive distribution with 16 assists and 7 digs while also proving herself to be the most dangerous server in the match with 6 aces.  Chanice led the team with 11 digs while Co-Captain Carmela Sellitto turned in 10.

The 4th and final match featured PS-Berks and it was soon evident that the mental drain of the Abbington match had taken a toll on the Eagles.  Berks' offense was putting down kills at will and the Eagles could not find a defensive answer and could not respond offensively themselves.  The Eagles went weakly 25-10, 25-12 and 25-8.  In a match featuring few positive performances,  Samantha St. Germain led the team again in digs with 6 and distributed 6 assists.

The star player of the weekend was, without a doubt, Captain Samantha St. Germain for her consistency in effort and performance throughout the 4 matches.

GOOD CROWD WELCOMES THE EAGLES BACK TO THE NEST

The Eagles returned home to face off against William Paterson.  There was a large crowd present to welcome the Eagles and they were treated to a great home spectacle.  The live singing of the national anthem and the live performance from the dance troupe pumped up the crowd and created a great atmosphere.

The Eagles initially seemed to feed off the crowd's energy and stayed with William Patterson through the first six rotations but the inability of the Eagles to put away attacks proved costly as the WP side slowly started to convert their chances and pull away.  The Eagles dropped the first set 25-12.

The second and third sets saw the Eagles not give up the quick aces but the team could not convert their attack attempts into kills while WP was having good success putting away their attacks. The match really turned on that stat alone.  The Eagles passed well and attempted to put pressure on WP with their serving but WP outgunned the Eagles on attacks and were able to control the match from the front.  WP won the match in 3 sets and had a 28-6 advantage in kills for the match.

The Eagles were led defensively by Captain Carmela Sellitto with 7 digs and Captain Chanice Sears with 5.  Captain Samantha St. Germain  had the most service points, the sole ace for the team and chipped in 2 assists, 1 kill and 1 dig.

The Eagles go on the road on conference weekend to Abbington to take on 4 of their Conference foes.  Go Get Them Eagles!

EAGLES SHOW FIGHT AGAINST ST. JOE'S

The Screaming Eagles felt confident after the Keystone match but the St. Joe's serving created numerous miscues by the young CSE guns and their confidence was shaken.  The first 2 sets (9-25 and 10-25) were underwhelming.  The Eagles struggled to get into any rhythm and couldn't seem to find the chemistry on the court that would help them find success. But after a spirited coach's meeting with the team in between sets 2 and 3, the Eagles seemed to find their heart.  Maria Machuca led the spark with some outstanding serving, creating an early lead for the Eagles (9-2).  Leading 12-5 after Luz Campoverde's serving, the Bears went on 7-1 run that brought them to within 1 at 13-12.

The match went back and forth but the Eagles pulled ahead (20-16) late behind the serving of freshman Kareemah Muhammad and key kills by the vastly improved Subhana Wrights out of the middle.  The Eagles jumped to a 21-18 lead but saw that evaporate quickly and trailed 22-21 late in the set.  Subhana Wrights' key kill gave the serve back to the Eagles who proceeded to close out the set (25-23) behind the serving of Machuca and Campoverde.

Although the Eagles fell to the Bears in the 4th set,  the set was a highly competitive affair with both teams going on runs throughout the course of the set.  The Bears pulled away late to close out the set 25-19 but Chanice Sears, Jacqulyn Scott and Maria Machuca were key in keeping the match close most of the way.

Chanice Sears led the team in kills and aces (6) while Maria Machuca had 5 aces of her own. Subhana Wrights had her best day of the season with 3 kills and 2 blocks while Kareemah Muhammad led the team defensively with 5 digs.

The team hosts William Paterson in Morristown at 7pm on Tuesday, 9/21.

SHORT-HANDED EAGLES GIVE THE FUTURE AN OPPORTUNITY

The Eagles traveled to Brooklyn to take on Keystone College and St. Joe's of Brooklyn.  CSE opened with Keystone in a rematch of the Cougar Classic but unfortunately the results were eerily similar.  After being competitive for the early portion of each set,  Keystone was able to pull away and finish each set rather easily thanks to offensive and passing miscues.

However, the major difference this time is that the Eagles were on the floor with a primarily freshman team for most of the match.  Ibby Sesay took over the full reins of the offense due to Captain Samantha St. Germain's absence and led the Eagles to one of their most successful offensive days of the season.  Jen Landin and Luz Campoverde (in her debut) were productive and influential in the Eagles' performance.  Maria Machuca continued her stellar development as a defensive player and was one of the ace leaders on the team today.

The Eagles fell 25-15, 25-20 and 25-9 but seemed to find their stride with all the new players getting more comfortable as the match wore on.  Chanice Sears led the Eagles in both kills and aces and was instrumental in the success of the serve receive patterns the Eagles employed.

EAGLES TAMED BY PANTHERS

The Eagles took a trip to the eastern end of Long Island to face a tough 4-0 Old Westbury College team that had just won their own tournament this past weekend.  CSE was still missing their Libero and added Kean Tournament’s All-Tournament Selection Luisa Solano to the “not available” list due to an ankle injury suffered in the last match of the Cougar Classic. 

The Eagles were sluggish and lacked confidence in the first set as numerous passing errors resulted in a relatively easy 25-5 Set 1 victory for Old Westbury College.  Set #2 saw a much more spirited and competitive Eagles squad although Old Westbury’s double quick offense gave the Eagles young players a lot of trouble on defense.  Old Westbury wore down the Eagles midway through the set and pulled away for a comfortable 25-15 Set #2 victory.  Although the Eagles made some adjustments and cranked up their offense in Set #3, the overpowering offense and serving of Old Westbury was too much on this day for the Eagles.  Set #3 and the victory went to Old Westbury 25-11.

Captain Chanice Sears and Kareemah Muhammad combined for 15 of the team’s 26 digs in the loss while Captain Samantha St. Germain led the offense with 3 kills and adding 4 digs of her own.  Sam also tallied a solo block in the match.  Freshman MB Jannet Chaudry also chipped in 3 kills in the match.

The squad goes to St. Joe’s in Brooklyn for a tri-match versus St. Joe’s and Keystone this upcoming Saturday,  September 18.

THE EAGLES LAND AT THE COUGAR CLASSIC

DAY 1

CSE vs. Cooper Union Lost 22-25, 23-25 and 22-25

CSE vs. Kean Lost 8-25, 12-25 and 5-25

DAY 2

CSE vs. Southern Vermont Lost 23-25, 8-25 and 11-25

CSE vs. Keystone Lost 21-25, 21-25 and 10-25

The CSE Volleyball Team competed this past weekend in the Cougar Classic hosted by Kean University. The Eagles were without the services of Libero and Tri-Captain Carmela Sellitto which forced the team to change their entire offensive lineup for the weekend matches but it also provided the opportunity for some of the young players to gain vital match experience in her absence.

The first match versus Cooper Union was a back and forth battle that was decided on the late passing miscues of the Eagles. Tri-Captain Chanice Sears led the offense with 6 kills while newcomers Luisa Solano and Kareemah Muhammad combined for 14 aces out of 19 serves with only 1 error to keep CSE close most of the match.

The second match was less competitive on the scoreboard although the Eagles fought hard and played outstanding defense against a much taller and skilled Kean team. The Eagles were led by Luisa Solano who tallied 9 digs in defeat and another newcomer, Maria Machuca who chipped in with 6 digs in the loss.

The second day began on a very positive note as the Eagles had an outstanding set #1 versus the Mountaineers of Southern Vermont. The set was never secure for either team as the passing, defense and offensive skill of each team seemed to be fairly even. The slight edge in offense for the Mountaineers and CSE's late set struggles in serve receive proved to be the difference in the set and the eventual demise of the Eagles in the match. Luisa Solano yet again was perfect from the service line while Tri-Captain Samantha St. Germain handed out 5 assists while also leading the offense with 5 kills. Newcomer Ibby Sesay had her best defensive outing of the year with a team high 12 dig performance while also adding 3 kills of her own.

The closing match saw the Eagles square off against the #2 team in the Cougar Classic, Keystone College. The Eagles regrouped nicely after the loss to the Mountaineers and used a near perfect serving performance (44 of 46 serves in) and a much improved serve receiving effort to continuously keep Keystone off-balance and unable to run their best offensive sets. The Eagles couldn't put away their chances late in the match while Keystone was able to convert their opportunities to fend off a possible upset by the Eagles. The third set began as competitive as the previous two sets but the loss of Luisa Solano to an ankle injury early in set #3 took the wind out from under the Eagles' wings and Keystone rolled to an easy set #3 victory. Luisa finished the tournament perfect from the service line, #3 in digs and #2 in aces on the team for the weekend despite not having played for most of the 3rd set of the last match. Tri-Captain Chanice Sears found her hitting form in this match and tallied her weekend high 7 kills while Tri-Captain Samantha St. Germain led the way defensively with 9 digs.

Luisa Solano was selected to the Cougar Classic All-Star Team for her consistency on defense and her outstanding serving prowess over the two day tournament.

The Screaming Eagles fly over to SUNY College at Old Westbury on Wednesday for their next match.

CSE HOSTS MEDGAR EVERS AND COLLEGE OF NOTRE DAME

The dawn of new season brought a ton of excitement to the team in its first weekend versus two very athletic and determined teams. Although the team prepared well and felt pretty comfortable, there was no doubt that the first year players felt the pressure and the nerves of playing in their first collegiate match.

The Eagles fell 15-25, 10-25 and 18-25 to Medgar Evers in the first match and the story of the match was that the Eagles' great passing led to no offensive output. The Eagles managed only 11 kills to 22 errors which helped seal their fortune. Carmela Selitto and Chanice Sears led the Eagles with an astounding 94% passing efficiency off serve receive. Chanice also led the Eagles in kills for the match.

The second match saw the Eagles take on the College of Notre Dame who earlier had beaten a game but overmatched Medgar Evers squad. Anyone having seen the Eagles would not have thought that the CSE squad would've had a chance but the team rallied in between the two matches under the leadership of one of their tri-captains (Samantha St. Germain) and the young players got rid of their nerves to put on a pretty solid effort for their fans. Although the team lost 12-25, 18-25 and 17-25, the difference in the quality of their play was drastic. The Eagles struck for 13 kills while only committing 12 errors in this match, a drastic improvement over their earlier match. The Eagles faced a much tougher serving squad in Notre Dame which led to a few more passing errors but overall, the Eagles were still able to run a few more successful offensive sets than their earlier match.

Carmela Selitto led the Eagles in reception attempts and had nearly a 90% efficiency while also leading the team in digs and aces. Regine Jerome and Chanice Sears provided most of the offense, combining for 9 kills in the match.

The team plays next on Friday and Saturday (9/10-11) at Kean University's Tournament.