SCREAMING EAGLES TAME MUSTANGS FOR 18TH WIN

Saint Elizabeth won their 18^th match of the season, their 4^th NEAC win, in a 25-17, 26-24, 22-25, 20-25 victory vs. the Mustangs of Morrisville State. 

CSE and Morrisville were locked in a tight contest early on with both offenses being very efficient (10-10).  A Katie Cooper kill stopped a minor Mustang run that put the Eagles within 3 at 11-14 and started a 10-1 run (21-15) for Saint Elizabeth that turned the set in the Eagles favor.  Three Jenae Goodson aces and 2 Subhana Wrights’ kills fueled the run that led  to the 25-17 set win.

The second set started off much like the first with both teams unable to get the edge on the other (11-11).  Yet again, the Mustangs went on a mini run that gave Morrisville a small lead at 15-13.  A Kiara Francisco block and a key Kareemah Muhammad kill got the Eagles even at 19 all and sparked a late run by CSE that put the Eagles in a position to win the set.  Morrisville made a late run to tie the score at 24 all but a key hitting errors out of the right side by Morrisville gave the  set to CSE at 26-24.

CSE had the victory within its grasp in set 3 as the Eagles raced off to a 10-4 lead behind the serving of Amy Cooper, a kill by Kareemah Muhammad and an Amy Cooper and Ireyah Stevens block.  But the serving game faltered in the middle part of the set and it allowed the Mustangs to go on a 13-4 run that gave Morrisville a 17-14 lead.  Although kills by Kiara Francisco and Subhana Wrights kept the Eagles close (19-18), key kills by Morrisville down the stretch was the difference in a 22-25 CSE set loss.

The 4^th set saw the Eagles race out to an 11-5 lead thanks to the defensive presence of Subhana Wrights at the net and Kareemah Muhammad’s offense.  Although the Mustangs made several runs at the Eagles,  the 4^th set belonged to Katie Cooper and Subhnana Wrights who stemmed each run with key kills and blocks.  After the Eagles built their lead to 23-17, the Mustangs cut the lead down to 3 (23-20) after an Eagle blocking error, an ace and a right side kill but a key Subhana Wrights block –her 5^th of the match- cut the rally short and after a Kareemah Muhammad kill the set and match were over at 25-20.

Amy Cooper dished out 27 assists in a balanced 37 kill performance by the Eagles who saw Subhana Wrights and Kareemah Muhammad hit for 10 kills apiece and Katie Cooper hit for 9.  Rachel Hausler led the defensive efforts with 24 digs and a team leading 94% pass efficiency.  Defensive specialists Nashlly Sokoli and Jeane Goodson led the serving attack with 3 aces apiece and combined for 7 digs. Wrights was the dominant force at the net with a match best 5 blocks.  Kiara Francisco chipped in with 2 of her own in a dominant 8 block Eagle performance.