PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Union College volleyball team is off to its first 3-0 start since 2022 after wrapping up its weekend at the Johnson & Wales Invitational with a pair of wins over Salve Regina and the hosting Wildcats inside the Wildcat Center on Saturday afternoon by scores of 3-2 and 3-0, respectively.
Union 3, Salve Regina 2 (25-16, 21-25, 25-17, 24-26, 15-11)
Junior Kayla Martinez Cartagena posted her second straight double-double, leading the way with team-highs in kills (16) and digs (12).
Union (3-0) never trailed in the first set and closed out the opener on a 9-3 run. The Seahawks (0-2) bounced back quickly in the second, building a 13-3 lead after six Union attacking errors. After hitting .048 in a four-point loss in the second, the Garnet Chargers were able to right the ship with a .400 hitting percentage in the third. Senior Shelby McKim had four kills in the third and led her squad with a .400 hitting percentage over all five sets.
Union also benefited from eight Seahawk errors in the pivotal swing set, and first-year Johanna Melhorn registered her first-career block solo in the 25-17 third-set victory.
The fourth set featured seven total rallies of at least three points between the two sides. Union broke an 18-18 tie after a Seahawk serving error, then went up by three following blocks from senior Maddie McCarron and Martinez Cartagena then a kill from McCarron. Senior Erin Stevens positioned Union for match point with a kill, but the Seahawks were able to extend the match with three consecutive points to come back and win 26-24.
The Garnet Chargers seemed to be rolling to a fifth-set victory early and built a 6-1 edge thanks in part to back-to-back kills from Melhorn.
Salve Regina was able to tie the set up at 10, but the Garnet Chargers responded with a four-point rally. Martinez Cartagena put down her 15th and 16th kills of the day during the run to give Union another look at match point. Melhorn finished the job with her eighth kill of the afternoon as the Garnet Chargers wrapped things up 15-11. The first-year from Winchester, Mass. was one of four Garnet Chargers to hit over .300, joining Martinez Cartagena, Stevens, and McKim.
Junior Allie Kronenberg filled up the stat sheet with 31 assists, three aces, three kills, six digs, and a pair of block assists.
Union 3, Johnson & Wales 0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-21)
The Garnet Chargers handed the host school Johnson & Wales (3-1) its first loss of the season in short order in the second match of the day.
Junior Georgia Pinciaro posted her best match of the season so far, leading the team with nine kills. She also added a pair of block assists, tying with Melhorn and senior Samantha Janker for the lead in that category.
Union used a five-point rally to break a 20-20 tie late in the first and build an early advantage in sets.
The Wildcats erased a five-point deficit in the second, shortly taking an 18-17 lead. The Wildcats also survived Union's first two looks at set point, but Pinciaro finally put the set away with her seventh kill of the match.
Union never trailed in the third and outscored the Wildcats 8-1 over the middle stretch of the eventual final set, winning the match overall after a pair of Johnson & Wales miscues.
The Wildcats made 24 attack errors, 13 service errors, and four reception errors as they fell to the Garnet Chargers.
Union will make its Schenectady season debut on Friday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. against SUNY Cobleskill and 7 p.m. against Hartwick.
