ITHACA, N.Y. – The Union College women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon at Ithaca College's Ben Light Gymnasium, falling to the #13 Bombers by a 3-1 score before rebounding with a 3-2 comeback win over Buffalo State University.
Junior
Kayla Martinez Cartagena led Union (8-5, 0-2 Liberty League) with 27 kills over the two matches, while classmate
Allie Kronenberg had the day's only two double-doubles for the Garnet Chargers and finished the afternoon with 58 assists, 25 digs, seven kills and six blocks.
Ithaca 3, Union 1 (25-10, 20-25, 25-13, 25-8)
The Garnet Chargers took a set off the Bombers for the first time since 2018, but it was not enough as the home team cruised in the other three sets to earn a win. Martinez Cartagena had a team-leading 13 kills and Kronenberg added a team-high 13 digs in the first match of the day.
Ithaca was incredibly efficient on attack in the win, making only one error in each of its three set victories. Union took advantage of the team's one off set, putting down 13 kills on the way to taking the second stanza.
The Bombers jumped out to an early 9-1 lead in taking the opening set, but Union battled back in the second. The lead traded hands seven times to go with 13 ties in the frame, the last coming at 17-all. But the visitors went on a game-changing 5-0 run after that, helped by two kills each from Martinez Cartagena and first-year
Johanna Melhorn, before exchanging points the rest of the way.
Ithaca used a 6-1 run midway through the third set to gain some distance in taking a 2-1 lead, and jumped out to a 15-3 lead on the way to a quick fourth-set win.
Union 3, Buffalo State 2 (25-16, 16-25, 24-26, 25-23, 15-12)
Union mounted a comeback in its second match of the way, pulling out the fourth and fifth sets to knock off the Bengals.
Martinez Cartagena (14 kills), Melhorn (11 kills) and junior
Georgia Pinciaro (10 kills) all reached double figures for the Garnet Chargers, with Melhorn hitting a red-hot .667 with just one error on 15 swings to go with four blocks. Kronenberg filled up the stat sheet with 33 assists, 12 digs, five kills and a team-high five blocks.
Down two sets to one, Union trailed for almost the entirety of the fourth set before mounting a late comeback. A string of seven straight points turned a 19-16 deficit into a 23-19 lead, helped by two kills and a block by Kronenberg and an ace by sophomore
Shea Ringel. After the Bengals battled back to knot the score at 23, a Buffalo State error and a Kronenberg kill sent the match to a fifth set.
The final frame was tied four times over the first 14 points before Union made a decisive 4-0 run to take an 11-7 lead. The advantage never got below two the rest of the way, with kills by Melhorn and Pinciaro helping push Union over the finish line.
The Garnet Chargers will return home for the first time in over two weeks on Wednesday with a non-conference matchup against Middlebury College set to begin at 7 p.m. at Viniar Athletic Center.
