NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The College of New Rochelle picked up a key Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Culinary Institute 3-0 Saturday afternoon in front of a fanatic Family Weekend crowd in the Wellness Center. CNR now sits atop of the table at 2-0 in the league and 14-9 overall, while CIA falls to 2-2 and 5-5 overall.
After a slow start by the Blue Angels that allowed the Steels to hang around – trailing just 11-9 – it was senior Melanie Ann Lopez Soto (Gurabo, PR) who led CNR on a rally to jump out 16-9. After a side out, it was fellow senior Tiany Perez Diaz (Juncos, PR) who served out the game to lead the Blue Angels to the 25-11 first set victory. Perez Diaz finished the match with six aces.
CNR rolled to an easy 2nd set victory (25-10) thanks in part to the hitting of freshmen Imani Debose (Carson, CA). She finished the match with a game-high 12 kills.
The Steels made it difficult in the third frame. Despite that, CNR dulled the Steels attack late, and cut there way to a 25-20 win. Lopez Soto finished the game with 14 assists, five in the final frame. Freshmen Brianna Garcia (San Juan, PR) led the way with 14 digs on the floor.
Streaking at the right time…
* CNR has now won five straight and remains unbeaten at home (4-0). In this five game winning streak, CNR has not dropped a single set (15-0).
* The Blue Angels have won 10 of the last 11 contests.
* In the last five matches, CNR has averaged 11.5 aces per contest and has hit positive in each contest.
CNR will travel to John Jay College for a non-conference game on Tuesday at 7pm.