Volleyball drops two matches out of three at MSU Classic

After starting the season off with three wins at the College of Charleston Tournament, the Boston College volleyball team was unable to stay undefeated on the year, as it dropped two out three contests at the Mississippi State Classic this weekend.

The host Mississippi State beat the Eagles (4-2) 3-1 late Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day BC, had knocked off Samford 3-1, picking up its only win at the tournament. These matches came after Lamar defeated the Eagles 3-0 to open the tournament Friday night.

“We played a couple of pretty good teams this weekend,” said sophomore Elizabeth Aron, “but we didn’t live up to our potential. We were pretty disappointed by our performance this weekend, but we are looking forward to this week.”

The Eagles were able to win the first game of their match against MSU, 30-27. The Bulldogs took the next two games in close fashion. They went up 2-1 by beating the Eagles 30-28 and 30-27, respectively, in the second and third games. The Bulldogs then closed out BC with a decisive 30-23 win in the fourth and final game.

Earlier in the day the Eagles picked up their lone victory at the event, defeating the Samford Bulldogs 3-1. Samford came out strong, winning the first game 30-26. The Eagles then rallied, winning the next three games in a row to take the match.

Led by Aron and senior Rachel Bach, who were both named to the all-tournament team, the Eagles did not even allow the Bulldogs to get back in the match, winning 30-15, 30-21, and 30-20. Jessica Brizzolara racked up 110 assists in the two games on Sunday.

On Friday night Lamar handed the Eagles their first loss of the season, 3-0, in the first match of the tournament. BC struggled, losing the first two games of the match, 30-17 and 30-19. In the third game the Eagles gave Lamar a challenge, but the Lady Cardinals prevailed 31-29.

“We worked well as a team on the court, but we just couldn’t pull it together,” Aron continued. “It was definitely a learning experience.”

Bach and Aron were the top performers for BC on the weekend. Bach notched her 1,000-career kill in the game against Mississippi State. Aron picked up double-doubles in kills and digs in all three matches the Eagles played.

“Rachel [Bach] was definitely a dominant force this weekend,” said Aron. “She killed a lot of balls and added a lot on defense.”