Wildcats Knock Out Women's Volleyball 3-0 in GNAC Quarterfinal

PROVIDENCE, RI – Continuing the best season for the Johnson & Wales University volleyball team since 2010, the Wildcats cruised to a first round victory in the GNAC Tournament. Second-seeded JWU eliminated seventh-seeded Lasell College from the GNAC Tournament with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-19) victory on Tuesday at the Wildcat Center.

Records:
Johnson & Wales: 21-7
Lasell: 11-23

The Lead:

 The Wildcats had a solid all-around match, outhitting the Lasers .280-.163 as well as holding a 53-38 advantage in digs.

Of Note:

For the fourth year in a row, Johnson & Wales will make a semifinal appearance in the GNAC Tournament. Last season, the Wildcats moved on to the tournament finals where they dropped a 3-1 decision to Rivier.

Freshman Nastasia Kapustin (West Nyack, NY) led all players with a match-high 13 kills. It's the third-match in a row that the outside hitter has posted double-digit kills. She had 11 against the Lasers in last Friday's regular-season match.

Nearly all of the Wildcats' 37 kills came from three players as Emily Kalmink (Byron City, Mich.) had 10 kills and junior Starsha Tunstall (East Providence, RI) was next at nine. Kalmink also had four aces and three blocks.

Five different players had five or more digs, led by senior Paula Cadavid (Pawtucket, RI) and freshman Monica Cordova (Jersey City, NJ) with 10 apiece.

In the first and third set the Wildcats got off to fast starts thanks to strong serving. In the second set, the Lasers jumped out to a 9-5 advantage, but serving runs from Tunstall and Cadavid swung the lead JWU's way, 16-14, then a pair of Kalmink aces pushed the lead to 21-15.

Lasell Statistical Leaders:
Sharisse Scott-Rawlins: 11 Kills, 4 Digs
Olivia Addington: 6 Kills, 2 Digs
Caitlyn Garcia: 9 Digs, 2 Kills 

JWU Statistical Leaders:
Kellen Tensen: 33 Assists, 4 Digs
Nastasia Kapustin: 13 Kills, 4 Digs
Emily Kalmink: 10 Kills, 4 Aces, 3 Digs, 3 Blocks

Coachspeak:

"I thought we served well. We had a serving game plan and we executed it perfectly. We took them out of what they wanted to do offensively. On the flipside, I thought it was one of our better serve-receive performances. We didn't allow them to go on any runs and we didn't get stuck in a particular rotation."

-JWU Head Coach Nancy Somera

Up Next:

Johnson & Wales is back in action on Thursday when they play host to Saint Joseph's of Maine in the GNAC Semifinals. The Wildcats beat the Monks, 3-0, on October 17. 

Recap Courtesy of JWU Sports Information