CSE SMOTHERS PRIVATEERS

An efficient and constant attack by the Eagles was the key in a dominant 3-0 win versus the Privateers of SUNY - Maritime during Senior Night, a send off to the 6 seniors concluding their careers at home for CSE.  The Eagles improved their record to 15W-16L and are 1 game away from .500 with 2 left in the 2013 campaign.

The Eagles once again got off to a hot start against SUNY - Maritime. Subhana Wrights had a nicely placed spike to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead. Kareemah Muhammad got into the action with a service ace to give CSE an 8-3 lead. The Screaming Eagles kept applying pressure, forcing Maritime into a series of unforced errors, upping the lead to 12-3. The Privateers from Maritime hung around, notching 5 of the next 6 points to cut the lead to 13-8. The Eagles did not let the Privateers get any closer, as they started pulling away with a 19-11 lead. Continuing to apply pressure, the Eagles lead grew to 23-14, forcing Maritime to call a timeout. Nicole Morero capped off the first set with a beautifully placed shot, giving the Eagles a 25-16 first set win. The Eagles pounded out 12 kills and hit .211 as 5 different Eagles had at least 2 kills in a balanced and efficient attack orchestrated by setter Cheyenne Grant. CSE also dug up 21 balls, 5 digs apiece for Katie Cooper and Kiana Cunningham. 

In the second set, Subahana Wrights once again dominated at net with a viscious spike giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead. Kareemah added a nicely placed kill to give the Eagles an 8-4 lead early in set 2.  Set 2 proved to be a struggle, as CSE traded points for much of the first half of the set. Ireyah Stevens had the highlight of the set with a ferocious kill at the net, giving CSE a 13-7 lead. The Screaming Eagles continued to dominate at the net, forcing the Privateers into unforced errors, giving the Eagles a 23-12 lead. The Eagles added 2 of the next 3 points, winning set 2 25-13. CSE hit for another 12 kills and a .500 hitting % as Kareemah Muhammad, senior captain, pounded out 4 kills on 5 attempts to lead the Eagle barrage.  The team hit .500 for the set which more than overcame a poor service game for the set (0 aces - 5 errors - 24 attempts).    

Set 3 started off just like the first 2 sets with the Screaming Eagles jumping out to a quick 9-1 lead. Nicole Morera led the Eagles while serving, recording 7 points, including a service ace. Maritime did not go away however, clawing their way back into the game at 10-6. Stevens continued to be a force at the net, putting away a kill and giving CSE a 13-6 lead. CSE’s height continued to affect Maritime, causing them into a series of unforced errors, and a 20-10 CSE lead.  Behind the serving of Katie Cooper, the Eagles took 5 of the next 7 points, winning the final set 25-12. The Eagles scored another 12 kills and hit .275 led this set by Subhana Wrights who hit .667 with 4 kills in the set.  Nicole Morera and Katie Cooper set the tone defensively and from the service line as they combined for 9 of the team's 15 digs and had 19 of the team's 25 serves (2 aces) seal the victory for the Eagles. 

CSE hit .303 for the match with 36 kills.  Cheyenne Grant, playing in her last home game, set a perfectly balanced offense with 5 different hitters striking for at least 6 kills as she dished out 24 assists.  Subhana Wrights had a perfect day in her last match at St. Joe's, hitting a .667 with 8 kills and 0 errors while adding 3 blocks to her stats.  Kareemah Muhammad also played one of her best games tonight with a .316 hitting % and 8 kills as well.  Kareemah was also a perfect 17/17 from the service line and had 8 digs.  Taisha Colon, back from a minor thumb injury, added a team leading 10 digs and was 8/9 from the service line.   

CSE’s seniors were honored on this, their Senior Day. Kareemah Muhammad, Taisha Colon, Cheyenne Grant, Amy Cooper, Subhana Wrights, and Kristina Trash were all accompanied by friends and family as they received flowers for their contributions to the volleyball team throughout their careers. The Eagles close out their season on Sunday with a tri-match vs. Yeshiva and York College at Baruch College. 

CSE plays York College at 1pm and Yeshiva at 3pm.

YEARS IN REVIEW - 2010 THROUGH 2013

2010

CSE RANKINGS VS. TOP 50 IN NATION

***UNRANKED IN ANY CATEGORY***

2011

CSE RANKINGS VS. TOP 50 IN NATION

ACES/SET - #11 (3.0)

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER RANK VS. NATION

KATIE COOPER #29 ACES/SET (.69)

AMY COOPER #48 ACES/SET (.64)

2012

CSE RANKINGS VS. TOP 50 IN NATION

ACES/SET- #12 (2.82)

MATCH WIN % - #50 (.759)

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER RANK VS. NATION

AMY COOPER #14 ACES/SET (.78)

2013

CSE RANKINGS VS. TOP 50 IN NATION

*as of 10/27

ACES/SET - #29 (2.63)

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER RANK VS. NATION

KATIE COOPER #24 ACES/SET (.70)

NICOLE MORERA #44 ACES/SET (.64)

WITH 3 MATCHES LEFT, 2013 A TALE OF 3 SEASONS

The 2013 Screaming Eagles came in with lofty expectations for the 2013 Volleyball season.  A couple of new recruits to bolster the offensive and serve receive facets of the team, veteran leadership from the setter position, an experienced and multi-skilled libero, an improved veteran middle and outside presence to center around the return of the best CSE offensive and blocking player of 2012 along with a slew of new and veteran role players that would add depth and quality to a previously thin team on both counts seemed to signal the beginning of a historic season.

The team opened the campaign with a difficult schedule, opening against New Jersey City and College of Notre Dame.  Although the team had recently experienced success against both teams, these opponents have always proven to be exceptionally difficult matches for the Eagles.  Two 5 set matches later on opening night, the Eagles had a 1W-1L record and, true to form, could have easily picked up two wins or lost them both as the matches were very close and hard fought.

Culinary and King's College (NY) were the next opponents less than 13 hours later.  CSE would be tested as usual by the Steels of Culinary and the Lions of King's College as the Eagles looked to find their legs after 2 marathon matches that ended well after 11pm the previous night.  At the conclusion of the 4 match opening weekend, CSE had a 3W-1L record and seemed to have the proof it needed that it was going to be a great year.

John Jay College became the next win for the Eagles as starting setter Amy Cooper set a new school record with 12 aces in a match and helped the team set a school record with 26 total aces in a single match.  The Eagles then traveled to Bryn Athyn to take on the home team and Bryn Mawr.  The Bryn Mawr match, although a loss, was decided by a mere 7 points over 3 sets and the Eagles took that  confidence against an improved Bryn Athyn squad and outlasted the Lions for their 5th win to only 2 losses.  The team seemed poised to have a great match against a historically difficult opponent in Montclair State University.  However, this was when the unexpected occurred and it turned the season on its head.

Amy Cooper suffered a shoulder injury which prevented her from blocking and serving.  This thrust senior Cheyenne Grant into the first starting role of the season and of her career as Grant was forced to take over and run the Eagle offense against MSU.  Although the team fought hard in the match and almost took the first set (24-26 loss), the switch in defense and setter were too much to overcome in a short period of time and the Eagles dropped to 5W-3L.

Over the next 11 matches the Eagles went on a dismal 3W-8L run during which CSE lost Grant, their backup setter, for 4 matches, their starting OH/MB Kiana Cunningham for 3 weeks and their other starting OH, Nicole Morera, for just over a week.  During this stretch, the team employed 3 different offensive and defensive systems and had 3 different setters.  Although the team went through a great deal of adversity, the playing experience earned by the role players on the squad were going to pay off dividends in the next phase of the season.  Ayesha Brannon, Natasia Wilson, Amanda Inacio and Taisha Colon took on bigger roles and more responsibility in the team system and their contributions came to the forefront as the Eagles snapped their losing streak in early October to go on a 3 match winning streak versus College of Staten Island, Medgar Evers and College of New Rochelle.

With those 3 wins, the Eagles improved to 11W-14L and finishing the year above .500 was within reach as the team got to mid October and had 4 matches in a week (RU-Newark, Keuka, SUNY-Cobleskill, Cazenovia) that would go a long way in determining how the season would end up.

The week would start off badly as CSE dropped a 3-1 decision to RU-Newark after winning set 1 and leading in all 3 subsequent sets before losing each one late. The team worked hard to fix those errors in the practices leading up to conference weekend #3 and it seemed to pay off early as the Eagles were able to take a lot of positives from a 3-0 loss to Keuka and followed it up with a come from behind 3-2 win versus SUNY Cobleskill after being down 2-0.  Conference weekend ended rather well for CSE as the team carried the momentum and confidence earned versus Cobleskill and defeated Cazenovia 3-1 in a tough fought close match.  The two wins kept hope alive for a .500 record or better as the team was 13W-16L with 4 matches to go.

John Jay College was next on the schedule on Dig Pink night.  Much like the early part of October where the Eagles opened 0W-5L, CSE couldn't seem to do anything right early on and trailed 14-4 in the first set before showing signs of coming alive.  Much like the match versus Rutgers, CSE dominated late and actually took the lead 24-23 but succumbed 26-24 in the end as key errors cost the Eagles late in the set.  But the Eagles rallied, as they have done since conference weekend, and dominated the Bloodhounds in the next 3 sets and won the match for their 14th win.

With 3 matches left in the 2013 season, the Eagles find themselves 2 games under .500 (14W-16L) and in the midst of a 6W-2L streak.  Subhana Wrights has been dominant in this streak and the offense has been very efficient behind the leadership, emotion and play of Cheyenne Grant who has grown more comfortable in her role as starting setter.  Ireyah Stevens has been a major defensive and offensive force and the freshman duo of Nicole Morera and Kiana Cunningham has been lethal at key points in this stretch.  Kareemah Muhammad, Taisha Colon, Amanda Inacio, Natasia Wilson and Ayesha Brannon have steadied a serving attack and have made key defensive contributions to lead the Eagles in this streak.  The passing and defensive game of the Eagles has been nearly flawless as Katie Cooper has been stellar as the libero.

The Eagles will have to run out the string of 3 matches if the squad hopes to finish .500 or above for the 3rd consecutive year and, should CSE accomplish that, the team would finish out the season on a 9W-2L run that would mirror the 10W-3L run the team went on at the end of their historic 22W-7L season in 2012.

Follow the Eagles on this blog and on http://cse.edu/volleyball -where home matches are live-streamed- as the Eagles close out the 2013 season over the next week (10/30 v. SUNY Maritime, 11/3 at Yeshiva versus York and Yeshiva, 1 and 3pm).

EAGLES OVERCOME SLOW START TO WIN 3RD IN A ROW

Despite the slow start, the Screaming Eagles came from behind to beat John Jay 25-27, 25-9, 25-10, 25-12.

In the first set, the Screaming Eagles did not get off to a good start when they quickly fell behind 7-0 to the Bloodhounds from John Jay.  The Eagles were doomed early by unforced errors on offense.  Natasia Wilson got CSE going with a service ace, bringing the score to 9-3. CSE looked to turn things around when Ireyah Stevens put a perfectly placed spike passed John Jay, cutting the lead to 14-7. Subhana Wrights once again kept up her solid play at the net, blocking 3 Bloodhounds’ shots at the net, bringing CSE within 16-15. The set went back and forth, with the Eagles clawing their way back to trail 22-21. Trailing by 2, Wrights once again came up big with a huge block at the net to tie the score up at 23.  Unfortunately for the Eagles, they were unable to overcome the deficit, dropping the set 27-25.

The second set started off much better for the Screaming Eagles, jumping out to an early 6-3 lead. Behind the great serving of Katie Cooper, The Eagles added 3 more to the score, now leading 9-3. The Eagles kept up the offensive attack, aggressively perusing the ball with confidence. Senior Kareemah Muhammad blistered a service ace passed John Jay, giving the Eagles a 12-4 lead. CSE took a 16-5 lead when Stevens smashed a spike passed the Bloodhounds defenders. Kiana Cunningham also recorded an ace, as the Eagles poured it on to lead by 15. CSE continued their onslaught, taking the second set 25-9.

The Eagles continued their hot streak in the third set.  Behind the serving of Katie Cooper, the Eagles took a 4-0 lead. Cunningham led the Eagles at the net, upping the lead to 11-3 after a kill. CSE kept the momentum going as they took 6 of the next 8 points to blow the set wide open at 17-5. While serving, Cunningham recorded another ace, giving the Eagles a 22-8 lead. The Eagles rode the momentum, taking set 3, 25-10.

In the fourth set, the Bloodhounds recorded 3 straight errors, giving the Eagles a 3-2 lead.  Katie Cooper placed the ball perfectly despite a broken play, giving the Eagles the point and an 8-3 lead. CSE did not take their foot off the pedal, adding of the next 5 points and taking an 11-5 lead. The turning point in the set was when Sunbhana Wrights put home a shot at the net, giving the Eagles a 16-10 lead.  After that point, CSE ripped off the next 7 to take a 23-10 lead. The Eagles took 2 more points, closing out the match 25-12.

The Eagles improve to 14W-16L and will try to finish the season at .500 or above for the 3rd straight year as the team will try to win out the remaining 3 matches of the 2013 season.

The Eagles return to action for senior day on October 30 vs. SUNY Maritime at 7 P.M.

CSE MAKES IT BACK TO BACK WINS

The Eagles continued their hot streak, beating Cazenovia in 4 sets 25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22.

In set 1, The Eagles picked up where they left off last night, jumping out to an early 3-2 lead.  Kareemah Muhammad led CSE early on with 4 straight service points. Not to be outdone, junior Ireyah Stevens continued her presence at the net getting another beautiful block, giving the Eagles a 9-6 lead.  Subhana Wrights got into the action blistering a spike past the Wildcats defenders, giving the Screaming Eagles a 14-10 lead.  Both teams would trade points for the most part of the last set. Leading 20-16, Cheyenne Grant served 3 points in a row to give the Eagles a 23-16 lead. Despite Cazenovia rallying a comeback, CSE held on for a 25-20 first set victory.

The Eagles continued to apply pressure in set 2 as they jumped out to an early lead.  Subhana Wrights continued to shine as she had 2 straight kills to put the Eagles ahead, 10-8. The game continued to be a close one, as Cazenovia matched the Eagles point for point. With the Eagles up 20-18, Nicole Morera notched an ace that would help propel CSE to a 25-22 win.

The offense got off to a slow start in the third set. The Eagles struggled to find the kills they got earlier in the match. The Eagles would however, fight through it and tie up the game at 12. Just as the first 2 sets went, the two teams continued to trade points for the remainder of the set.  Cazenovia eventually pulled ahead and took the third set 25-21.

The Eagles were determined in the 4th set to not fall behind early. CSE jumped out to a quick 5-3 lead and never looked back. The offense got rolling in the set with Wrights coming up with 2 big kills. Cheyenne Grant also chipped in with 28 assists while aiding Wrights in her kills.  Even though Cazenovia continued to fight back, the Eagles proved too much taking the last set 25-22.

CSE ROARS PAST TIGERS IN THRILLING 5 SET MATCH

The Screaming Eagles faced off against the SUNY Cobleskill Tigers in the 2nd NEAC match of the weekend and seemed to struggle at the outset of the match. CSE jumped out early with a 2-1 lead. The Fighting Tigers from Cobleskill came right back however, taking a 12-5 lead. After a serious of unforced errors by Cobleskill, the Eagles found themselves trailing 19-15. The Eagles could not overcome the deficit, dropping the set 25-16

Trailing 4-3 in the second set, freshman Kiana Cunningham had back to back beautifully placed spikes to give the Eagles their first lead of the game at 5-4. After a back and forth set, the Eagles found themselves tied at 10-10. Ireyah Stevens managed  to spike the next point of a Cobleskill defender, giving the Eagles the lead. The set continued to go back and forth with each team trading points. Down 24-19, the Eagles earned the next 3 points before losing the set 25-22.

CSE did not waste time jumping out to a lead in set 3.  Katie Cooper not only continued her stellar digging play, but also contributed while serving to jump the Eagles out to a 5-1 lead.  The Eagles continued to pour it on with a total team effort.  Cheyenne Grant had 3 straight service points to put the Eagles in front 11-5. CSE continued putting pressure on Cobleskill, forcing them into 2 straight errors, and a 21-11 Eagles lead.  The Screaming Eagles continued to apply pressure, closing out the set with a 25-17 set 3 win.

The Eagles kept the momentum going in the 4^th set, jumping out to a 4-3 lead. Stevens continued her clutch play at the net, blocking a spike from Cobleskill and pushing the Eagles lead to 9-5. CSE just kept applying the pressure, rallying off 4 of the next 5 points causing Cobleskill to call a timeout.  Stevens continued carrying the Eagles with block after block at the net. Her presence alone caused Cobleskill to make unforced errors around the net.  The Eagles lead ballooned to 20-10 with the entire team contributing on both offense and defense. Despite a rally by Cobleskill, the Screaming Eagles held on to win the fourth set 25-18 and square the match up.

In the decisive fifth set, the Eagles quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead.  Thanks to the great serving from freshman Nicole Morrera, CSE built their lead to 6-2.  The Screaming Eagles continued their ferocious comeback, extending the lead to 8-4 halfway through the final set.  Ireyah Stevens once again dominated at net with a fantastic spike giving the Eagles a 10-4 lead.  The Eagles continued the pressure, getting to match point before taking down Cobleskill 15-10 in the final set.

Cheyenne Grant led the team with 40 set assists. Kiana Cunningham added 19 digs to help the Eagles to victory. The comeback marks the first victory in the NEAC for CSE and improves their overall record to 12-15 on the season.

EAGLES FALL TO STORM IN 3 DESPITE GOOD EFFORT

CSE never could recover from their slow start, falling to Keuka College in 3 sets 9-25, 15-25, 19-25.

The first set started off slow for the Screaming Eagles quickly falling behind 9-1. The Eagles finally got into their groove to pull to within 12-5. Katie cooper led the comeback with multiple digs to help the Eagles get within 17-8. Keuka proved to be too much in the rest of the first set as they scored 7 of the next 8 points to take the first set 25-9.

The second set started out much better for the Screaming Eagles.  Trailing 6-3, Kareemah Muhammad brought the Eagles to within 1 with 2 straight service points. The Storm, however, kept the pressure on, notching 10 of the next 11 points to jump out to a 16-6 lead.  Subhana Wrights, once again led CSE at the net. Trailing 20-9, Subhana stuffed a spike attempt from Keuka, earning the point.  Riding the momentum, the Eagles took the next 3 points to pull within 20-13. The Eagles could not keep the momentum going, however, as they dropped the second set 25-15.

In the third set, the Storm once again jumped out to a quick lead. Keuka reeled off 7 straight points to take a 13-4 lead, resulting in a timeout by Coach Martins.  After the timeout, CSE took the next 2 points to edge closer to the lead.  The most exciting point of the set was won by CSE, thanks to a perfectly placed shot by senior Cheyenne Grant.  That point seemed to ignite the Eagles as they pulled to within 16-10.  Despite being down 23-14, the Eagles kept on fighting to pull to within 23-17. The Eagles however, could not pull off the comeback, eventually losing the set 25-19.

Nicole Morera led the team with 12 digs as well as 2 service aces. Cheyenne Grant had 24 set assists for the Screaming Eagles.

HOT START NOT ENOUGH AS EAGLES FALL

The Screaming Eagles won the first set 25-19, but could not sustain the lead as they fell in 4 sets 25-19, 22-25, 25-27, 22-25.

During the opening set, CSE jumped out to an early lead. The Screaming Eagles were lead by 3 straight service points by freshman Nicole Morera to take a 12-9 lead.  After a series of unforced errors by Rutgers-Newark, the Eagles jumped out to a 20-16 lead. The rest of the first set was a back and forth affair, with the Eagles ultimately winning the set 25-19.

The second set was another back and forth toggle, with Rutgers-Newark taking an early 7-5 lead.  Katie Cooper, the Screaming Eagles star defenseman, once again led the team on defense. She was all over the court saving point after point for the Eagles.  The Eagles had a series of unforced errors to find themselves trailing 16-10 halfway through the second set.  Junior Ireyah Stevens had the highlight of the second round with a killer block that pulled CSE to within 17-15. Subhana Wrights led a late rally with 2 straight points to get the Eagles to within 22-20.  The Scarlet Knights, however, hung on late in the second set to take it 25-22.

With the match tied 1-1, CSE got on the board early with a 6-4 lead. Kiana Cunningham had a nice block at the net to extend CSE’s lead to 7-5. Another tight set found the score knotted at 10-10 after the Eagles forced 2 straight unforced errors. CSE took an 18-16 lead after an ace from senior Cheyenne Grant.  Katie Cooper showed she is not just a defensive player, adding 3 straight service points to get the Eagles to set point.  The Scarlet Knights managed to scrape 4 straight points to tie up at the score at 24-24. The Screaming Eagles could not hold on as the Knights took the third set 27-25.

The 4^th set did not go as the Screaming Eagles anticipated as they quickly fell behind 9-1. After a timeout by coach Martins, the Eagles ripped off 5 straight points to close the gap to within 9-6.  The Eagles kept the momentum going as they tied up the score at 14 after trailing by 8 early in the set.  Wrights once again led the charge at net with a beautifully placed spike to give the Eagles a 21-19 lead.  The Eagles lead was short lived however, as the Knights came back to win the fourth set 25-22.

Subhana Wrights finished with the 2^nd most kills in the Screaming Eagles’ history with 19. It was also tied for the most kills ever in a 4 set match.  Katie Cooper also tied her season high with 29 digs for CSE.

CSE dropped to 11-14 on the season.  The Screaming Eagles return to action as they host NEAC volleyball this weekend. The Eagles first match is Saturday at 5 PM vs. Keuka College.

COUGARS NO MATCH FOR SCREAMING EAGLES

The Cougars of Medgar Evers were the opponents in the second Saturday match for CSE.  The Cougars' last victory versus the Eagles was in September of 2010 at St. Joe’s.  Since that loss, the Eagles have not lost 1 set to the Cougars and have been fairly dominant in their wins.  Saturday was a repeat of this recent history.  The Eagles hit for at least 10 kills in each of the 3 sets, hit a match high .363 in a 12 kill performance in the 2^nd set and totaled 32 kills in a dominant 25-10, 25-10, 25-12 three set sweep of the Cougars. 

Subhana Wrights was dominant again with a .467 hitting % on 9 kills and added 1 block.  Kiana Cunningham tallied 9 kills as well with a .278 hitting %.  Nicole Morera had a match high 5 aces on a perfect 21/21 serving and added 3 kills and 3 digs.  Kareemah Muhammad and Katie Cooper combined for 8 aces on 34 service attempts with only 1 error to give the Eagles an impressive 15 ace attack from the service line.  Cooper also led the team with a 13 dig performance.  Cheyenne Grant continued her recent service success with another 2 aces and added 3 kills while distributing 19 balls on offense.  Ayesha Brannon came in to spell starter Ireyah Stevens and chipped in 2 kills while Ashley Hollingsworth made her collegiate debut late in set 3 for Subhana Wrights and tallied her first kill to delight of her teammates and crowd.  

EAGLES FLY PAST BLUE ANGELS FOR 10TH WIN

The Screaming Eagles took to their home court on Saturday in an effort to maintain the momentum garnered in their victory over College of Staten Island earlier in the week.  The Eagles avenged an earlier loss a few weeks back to College of New Rochelle with a 3-1 win in the opening weekend match to push their overall record to 10W-14L, improve their home record to 6W-3L and extend their winning streak to 2 matches. 

CSE opened the match with the Blue Angels of New Rochelle looking to avenge an earlier loss to the CNR on a neutral floor when the Eagles were without 2 starters.  The Eagles and CNR were locked in a tight set early as both teams had trouble finding their offense.  A Subhana Wrights kill to tie the score at 9 sparked a 4 point run by CSE with another kill by Wrights and 2 aces by Nicole Morera. 

The Blue Angels closed to within 1 at 14-13 but  a key block by Kareemah Muhammad and Kiana Cunningham sparked another run by the Eagles that featured a kill and an ace by Cunningham and another kill by Ireyah Stevens that pushed the CSE lead to 21-15.  An ace by Katie Cooper finished the set off a few points later at 25-16.

The second set saw the Eagles fall behind early 4-1 but Wrights and Cunningham hit for a couple of kills each that helped CSE tie up the score at 5.  Although the teams swapped points through the midpoint of the set, Wrights added another kill and a block while Muhammad pounded out another kill to lift the Eagles to a 15-11 lead.  CNR fought back and took the lead late at 22-20 with an ace but off a timeout by the Eagles, Morera hit for a critical kill and Wrights followed suit with 2 consecutive unstoppable attacks that had CSE up 24-22.  Fittingly, after an Eagle service error brought the Blue Angels to within 1 at 24-23, a perfect pass by Cooper led to a perfect set by Cheyenne Grant to Wrights who was too much for CNR as the Eagles took the 2^nd set 25-23.

The third set saw the Eagle serve receive disappear and the squad was down 22-6 before CSE was able to recover.  Grant pounded out 2 straight aces and brought the Eagles to a 23-11 deficit but the damage was done and the Blue Angels closed out the set 25-12 which sent the message that the Blue Angels were not going to roll over in this match.

The Eagles got the wake up call they needed in the 3^rd set and came out flying in the 4^th set, taking a 5-0 lead early as Wrights hit for 4 kills and Morera for 1 in the run.  But the Blue Angels kept chipping away at the lead and jumped ahead of the Eagles 12-11 before a Morera kill tied up the score at 12.  A Grant ace and another Morera kill had the Eagles up by 2 at 15-13.  A series of Blue Angel errors later and a Wrights kill had the Eagles up at 18-15 but CNR  kept chipping away at the CSE lead and after a block on Wrights, the Blue Angels took a 19-18 lead. The Eagle defense came to the forefront at this juncture as numerous block touches by Cunningham, Wrights and Stevens forced the Blue Angels into hitting errors as they looked for that elusive kill. A Cunningham and a Stevens kill pushed the Eagles lead to an insurmountable 23-20 lead that CSE would not relinquish.  The Eagles took the set and match a few points later (25-21) for their 10^th win of the season.

CSE hit .241 for the match as they hit for 44 kills to only 18 errors for the entire match.   In the final set, CSE hit for a .228 average on a 14 kill performance that fueled the 4^th set victory.  Subhana Wrights led all players with 15 kills and a .464 hitting %.  Nicole Morera and Kiana Cunningham tallied a combined 15 kills .  Cheyenne Grant tallied a team leading 4 aces and 30 assists. Katie Cooper had a team leading 21 assists in the win.  Kareemah Muhammad had a perfect 14/14 serving performance with 1 ace and had team high 2 blocks with teammate Cunningham.  

CSE SNAPS LOSING STREAK WITH 3-1 VICTORY OVER STATEN ISLAND

Riding a 7 match losing streak into their match on Wednesday versus the Dolphins of Staten Island, CSE was looking to build on the team's competitive performances versus Lancaster Bible and PS Abbington earlier this week as they looked to get back to the winning column for the first time in 2 weeks.  The Eagles relied on their blocking and good team defense to overcome a game Dolphin squad in a 25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 25-18 victory to improve their record to 9W-14L.

The first set was a back and forth affair with both teams playing error filled ball that prevented a run by either team.  With the score 10-10, the Eagles found themselves in a tight set due to 7 errors on their part at that juncture, including 4 service errors.  The Eagles trailed late 19-20 as another service error put them in jeopardy but an attack error from CSI followed by kills by Subhana Wrights and Kareemah Muhammad and an ace by Nicole Morera gave the Eagles the cushion they needed at 23-20 and they closed out the set 25-21. The Eagles had a balanced attack with 6 players contributing to the team's 8 kills but the 25 digs defensively held the team in the set as the squad mustered only 3 aces to 6 errors.

In set 2, CSE erupted with 13 kills and only 2 errors for a .407 hitting %.  CSI had no answer to the Eagle attack as CSE jumped out to an 11-5 lead behind a Katie Cooper kill and extended the lead to 17-12 after a Muhammad kill.  Another Cooper kill gave the Eagles a 21-14 lead late in the match and the team never looked back as setter Cheyenne Grant dished out an assist to Ireyah Stevens and put down a kill herself for the 25-15 set victory.  Wrights, Muhammad and Kiana Cunningham had 5 kills apiece to lead a balanced attack.  Although the team could not generate any aces, the squad served 88% for the set, a drastic improvement from the 75% from the 1st set.  Wrights was also active defensively at the net, scoring 2 blocks in the set.

The 3rd set saw the errors finally catch up to the Eagles.  After a middle attack error early on pulled the Eagles to within 1 at 8-9,  2 blocks by CSI and 2 free ball errors by the Eagles aided the Dolphins in building a 14-10 lead.  After a block by Muhammad and Wrights, a kill by Cunningham and an ace by by Morera had CSE up by 1 at 15-14, another hitting error off a free ball gave CSI the ball back knotted at 15 to stop the Eagles' momentum.  After a Cooper kill and a Cunningham kill had the Eagles within 1 again at 17-18,  2 attack errors by CSE and a kill by the Dolphins pushed the lead yet again to 4 at 17-21.  Another Cooper kill temporarily stalled the Dolphin drive and after another Cunningham kill and Grant kill, the Eagles were yet again within 1 at 21-22. But another service error by the Eagles killed the drive and the Dolphins blocked an Eagle attack to close out the 3rd set 25-21. CSE hit for only 8 kills and had 11 errors in the set despite generating the most attempts (43) out of any of the 3 sets.  CSE had 4 aces but tallied another 3 errors for a serving % of 86% for the set.

Knowing they had been down this road before in recent matches, the Eagles buckled down and got aggressive on the serve and blocking, generating 5 aces and 5 blocks (3 by Wrights) to lead CSE to a comfortable late set victory.

CSE trailed early 7-10 but 2 hitting errors by the Dolphins, an ace by Katie Cooper and 2 blocks by Wrights, 1 of which was assisted by Morera, had the Eagles on top 12-11.  Kills by Cunningham and  Ireyah Stevens followed by 2 aces by Muhammad had the Eagles celebrating early as the lead grew to 21-16.  An Ayesha Brannon ace and a Morera kill followed to put the Eagles on the doorstep of a victory at 24-18 and CSE finished it off with what had been the difference maker in the match with another block by Wrights assisted by Morera.  Although the team only served at 84% for the set, the squad hit for 5 aces (20%) with 2 apiece by Muhammad and Cooper.

Katie Cooper anchored a solid defense that dug up 69 balls with a team leading 22 while also chipping in 3 aces and 5 kills.  Kareemah Muhammad tallied 6 kills and had a team leading 5 aces with only 1 error while also jumping in with 1 block.  Cheyenne Grant led a balanced offense with 26 assists while adding 3 kills and 9 digs to the cause.  Nicole Morera chipped in 3 kills, 3 aces, 2 blocks and 13 digs in the win while teammate Kiana Cunningham had a match best 11 kills and a .226 hitting % and also added 7 digs. Subhana Wrights hit for 6 kills but was absolutely dominant at the net with a match high 6 blocks on the night.

CSE GETS OVERPOWERED BY NITTANY LIONS BERKS.

The last match of the weekend saw the Eagles get overpowered by PS Berks as the team was competitive early in each set but the Nittany Lions pulled away at some point in each set to gain definitive control and pull away from a game but overmatched CSE squad with a 25-13, 25-14, 25-12 win.

Subhana Wrights led the team with 6 kills and 2 blocks and Kiana Cunningham chipped in 5 kills and 1 block in the loss. Katie Cooper had 11 digs and the only ace for the squad. 

The Eagles drop to 8W-14L overall with a 0W-7L record in the NEAC.  The Eagles will try to get back on the winning column as they take on the Dolphins of Staten Island in a non-conference matchup this Wednesday on the road.    

SCREAMING EAGLES FALL A COUPLE OF KEY POINTS SHORT TO CHARGERS

The Screaming Eagles looked to end their losing streak versus the Chargers of Lancaster Bible College in the 3^rd match up of NEAC weekend.  Although CSE seemed to matchup well versus the Chargers, the Eagles lost key points down the stretch of each set to fall 25-20, 25-18, 25-22.

In set 1, the teams battled to a tie early on at 9-9 after a Kiana Cunningham ace but a poor coverage error on a free ball gave the ball back to the Chargers who took the opportunity and ran out to a 5-1 run that ended after a middle attack error by the Chargers after a Subhana Wrights attack put Lancaster under duress. 

An ace by Katie Cooper sparked a 6-1 run where Wrights and Cunningham hit for kills and Nicole Morera added an ace.  After a sideout by Lancaster,  Wrights had a block to tie the score at 17. 

After CSE tied the score at 19-19 with a Cheyenne Grant kill, the Chargers pounded out a kill and an ace followed by a couple of attack errors by the Eagles to extend the lead to 24-19.  A service error by Lancaster opened the door for a potential comeback by CSE but a right-side attack by the Chargers snuffed out any hope in set 1.

The 2^nd set saw the Eagle serve receive seriously falter along with their offense as the Chargers jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable 16-4 lead.  A free ball error by Lancaster broke the momentum but the Eagles couldn’t muster any offense as the Chargers quickly regained momentum and held a 22-8 lead late in the set until a Wrights kill gave the ball back to CSE trailing 22-9.  The Eagles then went on a 5-0 run behind 4 aces off Nicole Morera’s serve but a service error ended the run.

Trailing 24-15, the Eagles found another 3-0 run behind a kill by Kareemah Muhammad, a Cunningham block and Taisha Colon ace.  The run, and the set, came to a close after a left-side attack by the Chargers which closed the set at 25-18.

In the final set of the match, CSE seemed to feed off the momentum they gained off the prior set as the Eagles raced out to an 8-3 lead behind the kills by Grant and Cunningham but another service error gave the ball and momentum back to Chargers as Lancaster took the next few points to close to within 1 at 8-7.  The set remained tight as Wrights pounded out another kill later in the set to give the Eagles a 14-11 lead but the Chargers knotted the score at 14 until a Grant kill gave the ball back to the CSE.  After Lancaster was forced into a couple of hitting errors, CSE looked to regain control at 16-14 but yet another service error handed another opportunity to the Chargers. The Chargers took control of the set for the first time at 17-16 but a kill by Ireyah Stevens held CSE in the mix.  The Eagles committed another inopportune service error and the Chargers never looked back as Lancaster extended the lead to 21-18 before 4 kills by Wrights brought CSE back to within 1 at 23-22. But Lancaster would close the door and the Eagles’ rally falls short 25-22.

 CSE was led by Subhana Wrights who hit .421 with 10 kills and added 3 blocks.  Cheyenne Grant had 10 assists and chipped in 5 kills.  Katie Cooper had a team leading 10 digs and had 5 aces while teammate Nicole Morera hit for a team leading 6 aces and added 3 kills and 5 assists. 

EAGLES RALLY IN THIRD SET NOT ENOUGH TO DERAIL LIONS

CSE took on the Nittany Lions of Penn State-Abbington in the late match looking to improve on their lackluster performance against Gallaudet.  The Eagles lost 3-1 by tallies of 18-25, 13-25, 25-16 and 20-25 despite a drastic improvement in the team’s performance.

The difference in an otherwise even first set was the serve receive of the Eagles that let them down in crucial times in the set.  CSE had 10 kills to only 1 error in the set and hit .429 but 5 service errors and 7 reception errors gave PS Abbington all the room it needed to take the set.

Although the Eagles cleaned up their serving in the second set, the passing remained an issue as CSE couldn’t run any offense and the mere 5 kills was evidence of the struggles of the squad.  The Eagles had only 5 kills for set #2.

The 3^rd set had the Eagles hit for another 6 kills but the team had 3 blocks, 2 aces and 0 reception errors to give the squad a rather easy set win.

The 4^th and decisive set saw the Eagles’s offense get off track as CSE could only muster 4 kills and gave up another 2 aces to go along with 3 serving errors.  Those 5 points turned out to be saving grace for the Lions as the final score of 25-20 seemed to indicate. The Eagles hit .139 with 25 kills in the loss with Subhana Wrights tallying 10 kills and 4 blocks and Katie Cooper putting down 6 kills and 2 aces to lead the offense.

CSE falls to 8W-12: and 0W-5L in the NEAC.

EAGLES FALL IN STRAIGHT SETS TO THE BISON OF GALLAUDET

The Eagles entered NEAC play this weekend with the knowledge that starting setter would be lost for the remainder of the season.  In addition, the Eagles would have to face off against Gallaudet without starting OH Nicole Morera who was not medically cleared to play due to a recent injury.  The Eagles fell to the Bison 25-12, 25-7, 25-9 and could not get on track even after a good start by the Eagles who were within a few points of the Bison midway through the match.  CSE managed only 11 kills for the match, the lowest total of the season. Katie Cooper hit a team leading .176 with 4 kills and Subhana Wrights also tallied 4 kills and 2 aces to pace CSE’s offense.

The Eagles fall to 8W-11L and 0W-4L in conference.

SCREAMING EAGLES COME UP SHORT AGAINST THE LIONS

CSE entered their 18th match of the season looking to get back to .500 versus the Lions of Bryn Athyn but despite holding a 2-1 set lead, the Eagles could not finish the task at hand and lost a tough 5 set match 20-25, 25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 5-15.

The Eagles are still playing without starting setter and captain Amy Cooper and are now missing starting OH, freshman Nicole Morera.  Kiana Cunningham made her return after 3 weeks on injured reserve to help boost the Eagles who had to start the match without backup setter Cheyenne Grant so the setting duties fell to Katie Cooper.

Although the Eagles lost the set 20-25, the team felt very good about the way they played as the team pounded out 10 kills out of 27 attempts for a .259 hitting %.  The team was also flawless from the service line going a perfect 21 for 21 with 2 aces.  Kareemah Muhammad and Subhana Wrights combined for 9 kills to lead the Eagles.

In the following set, CSE was down 6-9 early but a kill by Wrights and Cunningham led to a 3-0 run that tied up the score at 9.  Down 9-11, CSE goes on a 5-0 run to push the lead to 14-11 behind kills by Ireyah Stevens and Cooper and a block by Cunningham. With the score knotted up at 14, Stevens had a thunderous block that gave the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish as the block sparked a 5-0 run the saw Stevens have another block and Cunningham hit for an ace.  At 19-14, the Eagles never looked back and finished off the set 25-18 after a Wrights block and 3 consecutive Lion errors.

The third set was a close battle form the start but after an ace by Subhana Wrights and a Lion attack error, the Eagles had a 10-7 lead.  CSE maintained this 3 point lead through most of the set as the Eagles held on to a 21-18 lead after a Muhammad passing error.  After Bryn Athyn closed to within 2 at 22-20,  a kill by Cooper and an ace by Cheyenne Grant extended the lead to 24-20 and the Eagles looked to be poised to take the 3rd set.  Two consecutive kills by the Lions had the Eagles up by a mere point at 24-23 but after a timeout, a perfect pass by Cooper and assist by Grant had Wrights pound out the final point at 25-23.

The 4th set proved to be the Eagles' undoing as the team got out to slow start, trailing the Lions 8-1 early on.  The Eagles went on a 12-5 run that had the teams tied at 13 after a Taisha Colon ace but the Lions responded with a 4-0 run that propelled them to an 18-14 lead.  CSE fought back to within 1 at 17-18 after kills by Muhammad and Grant but the Lions regained control and had a 6-1 run that sealed the fate of the Eagles as a service error by CSE ended the 4th set 20-25.

CSE seemed to run out answers in the last set as the Lions jumped out to an 8-2 lead and atypical CSE miscues cost the team opportunities to keep the Eagles in the match.  CSE bowed out at 5-15 and hit negative for the set although the Eagles hit an impressive .209 for the match, unofficially.

Katie Cooper led all Eagles with 12 kills and added 13 assists while being a perfect 36 of 36 on serve receive and led CSE with 15 digs.  Subhana Wrights tallied 11 kills and 4 aces while adding 3 solo blocks.  Ireyah Stevens led the Eagles with 4 solo blocks and tacked on 2 kills.  Kareemah Muhammad led all Eagles with a .412 hitting % on 9 kills and Kiana Cunningham added 6 kills, 1 block, 2 aces and 11 digs in her return

CSE drops to 8W-10L and is in the midst of a 3 game losing streak as the squad heads to PS Berks this weekend to face conference foes Gallaudet U., PS Abbington, Lancaster Bible and PS Berks.