NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The College of New Rochelle rebounded from its season opening loss to Oswego by splitting its pair of matches on Saturday as the final day of competition wrapped up. CNR fell to Anna Maria College in the days opening match 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 23-25) before bouncing back to upend Sage Colleges 3-2 (25-23, 20-25, 16-25, 25-21, 15-4). CNR improves to 1-2 on the season, while Sage falls to 0-3 and Anna Maria is now 1-2.
CNR nearly doubled up Anna Maria in kills during the four game match (49-26), however the Blue Angels made nearly triple the number of hitting errors (31-10), which proved the difference in the very tight match. Freshmen Cristal Liciaga (San Juan, PR) led the way for CNR with 13 kills and hit nearly .400, while setting up 15 more kills. Junior Fabiola Padilla Rios (San Juan, PR) added 12 kills while senior Melanie Ann Lopez Soto (Gurabo, PR) finished with 24 helpers.
In the victory, CNR was led by Padilla Rios with 17 kills while Liciaga added 12. Lopez Soto added another 21 assists to go with six service aces. Freshmen Brianna Garcia (San Juan, PR) added four aces to go along with a game-high 20 digs.
CNR’s net defense was stellar in the match as the freshmen duo of Simaima Fukofuka (Garden Grove, CA) and Imani Debose (Carson, CA) each notched two solo blocks, out of CNR’s six for the game.
The Blue Angels will return to the Wellness Center for their home opener on Thursday night at 7pm when the host NJAC member Rutgers-Newark in a non-conference matchup.
Game Notes:
* The win over Sage marks the first in the programs history.
* CNR last played Anna Maria in 2013, which was a 3-0 Blue Angel loss.
* Lopez Soto and Liciaga were named to the All Tournament team