The Boston College women's volleyball team faced off against the Fighting Irish as part of rivalry weekend on Friday in the Power Gym. After putting up a good fight over three games, the Eagles experienced a loss against the Irish 3-0.
Two days later, the Eagles faced the Syracuse Orangemen, and in a nail-biter, the Eagles won the match 3-2. Friday's match-up competed for fans with the hockey game against Notre Dame in the same building. The Eagles still ended up with a large crowd to watch the game against No. 15-ranked Irish. ND has one of the best blocking teams in the nation; the team's height towered over BC.
The first kill of game one was delivered from Allison Anderson, one of the main driving forces for BC, who didn't even touch an Irish hand. The game continue with every point a battle between the two teams. Both teams' scores stayed within two points of each other. A few huge blocks from the trees in the front row put the Irish ahead. ND got the score to 29-23, but the Eagles started to rally back, getting up to 26 when the game ended with a Notre Dame win 30-26.
The second game for the Eagles started off well and then plummeted as the Irish went ahead 22-12. The Eagles tried to come back by finding the holes in the ND defense. Ultimately the Irish were able to pull out a second win, 30-21.
The third and final game of the match was going back and forth until the end. Some tough calls against BC stopped them at 23 points; ND took the game 30-23.
BC head coach Andrea Leonard said, "I am happy with the way they showed heart throughout this match. We have a young team but they came out with enthusiasm."
Overall, it was the intense blocking by the gigantic front row players from South Bend that dominated the game against the Eagles. Strong players in the game for BC were Anderson, Alison Shepp, and Katie Andersen with some big kills.
The second match-up for the Eagles came on Sunday, when BC faced Syracuse. The teams seemed evenly matched, but it was Eagles' determination that drove them to the ultimate win, but not before a two and a half-hour long adventure.
"They are similar to us and have a very aggressive defense getting a lot of digs in a game," said Leonard. "You should see some solid playing from Verena Rost, our setter, who is like the quarterback for our team."
An error started the first game on the wrong foot for the Eagles, but they quickly regained composure, trading points with Syracuse. Hitting hard was Eagles player Morgan Woodcock, who knocked down some crucial points. The Eagles led 24-21 just after a service ace by Dorota Niemczewska, when Syracuse took a time-out. The Eagles then won the game on a beautiful spike down the line, with the score 30-25.
The Eagles lost their concentration in the second game. A bunch of errors and some well-placed placed balls by Syracuse gave them the lead for the duration. Syracuse won the game 30-21, ending on a controversial call by the linesman.
Game three was similar to the first game, with the Eagles going strong and having their focus back. Woodcock's powerful hits at the net and Rost's strong serve gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead. A Syracuse time-out seemed to change the momentum. Syracuse came back and took control of the game. The lead went back and forth until BC won the game 30-28.
With the match win in close reach, game four starts up slow for the Eagles. They struggled throughout the game and Syracuse was taking advantage of the Eagles' errors and finding all of the gaps. Syracuse won the game and tied the match at 2-2.
The final game was a nail-biter, as the Eagles held the lead until Syracuse came back and made the game 11-9. A huge kill followed by a great tip give the Eagles the lead again. The score reached 14-11 and the Eagles had a few match points. The crowd was on its feet, but Syracuse did not give up and made two good plays. With the game at 14-13, the setter for Syracuse made the monumental service error that gave the Eagles the win 15-13 in the game and 3-2 for the match.
Leonard extended her thanks to the SuperFans who came out for the games. "We are very excited about the SuperFans. They are an asset to our program and we really love seeing those yellow shirts in the stands. They are definitely worth at least five points for us."
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