FAIRFIELD For the first time in four years, Quinnipiac volleyball will not be making an appearance in the MAAC Championship game. Rider blocked the Bobcats from that game, winning its Saturday afternoon semifinals match-up 3-1. “Some days you’re the bug, some days you’re the windshield,” head coach Kyle Robinson said. It was almost a done deal that Quinnipiac was going to face off with Fairfield in the MAAC Finals once again. Both teams entered the tournament as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, with the best conference records. Fairfield had beaten Caniscius for that finals spot earlier in the day, and Quinnipiac was coming off a 13-game win streak. All that stood between the same MAAC Finals pair for four years in a row was the No. 3 Rider. And Rider simply wanted that win more tonight. THE SET UP Last year, it was the same MAAC Semifinals game. Except that Quinnipiac was the one who came away victorious a year ago. Last time these teams faced off at Quinnipiac’s senior day in Burt Khan two weeks ago, the Bobcats swept the Broncos and kept them at a maximum 16 points per set. But even without that match-up, on paper, Quinnipiac was the front runner. The Bobcats had a 16-2 conference record and were on a 13-game win streak. Rider’s was 12-6. Senior setter Damla Gunes was named the MAAC Setter of the Year for the third time in a row only one of her program history-setting accolades this year. She ends her career with 4, 212 assists 781 more than the previous Division I record holder. Alongside her, her twin senior outside hitter Yagmur Gunes and graduate student opposite Elena Giacomini were all named to the All-MAAC First Team. Robinson was named MAAC Coach of the Year for the first time. Yagmur Gunes became only the second Bobcat to break the 1, 000 kills and digs milestone. Robinson has called this class “historic” on multiple occasions. And by their accolades, they truly are, not just based on this season. But Rider had the MAAC Player of the Year senior opposite Kiannisha Santiago, who would prove to be Quinnipiac’s kryptonite. THE GAME Quinnipiac was outperformed in a way that it most likely didn’t expect. It didn’t start out that way though. The Bobcats won the first set 25-17, out-serving the Broncos and playing a consistent game while Rider fell under the weight of its own errors. Errors are fixable though. And once Rider changed its tune, Quinnipiac struggled to keep up. The clear MVP of the game was Rider’s Santiago. She recorded 20 kills at Quinnipiac’s expense and only two attack errors. Quinnipiac’s blockers were no match for her swing tonight. “I don’t know if we expected them to be that good,” Robinson said. “But either way, you still gotta play. She’s player of the year for a reason. I don’t know if she really killed us as much as we killed ourselves.” Giacomini was the only player capable of even attempting to go head-to-head with her. She matched Santiago’s kills (20), but the 10 errors only added to the 28 that the Bobcats amassed in the game. Ten different Bobcats saw action as Robinson subbed in junior outside hitter Leilani-kai Giusta and freshman setter Klara Olszewska and outside hitter Vittoria Tonelli into the game as well. “The athletes on the court just weren’t getting it done,” Robinson said. “We gotta try to find a spark and someone to bring some consistency to our game.” Damla Gunes has been the “quarterback” of the team since her freshman season. Nobody expected to see her on the sidelines for half of the game tonight, yet that is exactly what happened. Yagmur Gunes had the second highest number of kills on the night for the Bobcats (11) and matched sophomore libero Carola Negron Diaz’s digs at 12. But not even she could break through Rider’s block for the majority of the time. The surprise was in the form of senior outside hitter Ginevra Giovagnoni. Despite sitting out the entire last season due to injury, she was still named to the All-MAAC Preseason Team and led the team in kills in Quinnipiac’s first program sweep over Fairfield. She recorded six kills and six attack errors tonight, often getting blocked before her hits could count in any way. Quinnipiac’s key players who shined the entire season just did not come through in this game. On the other hand, senior middle blocker Milena Silva not only opened up the scoring with a kill, but also recorded four on the night. Giusta, who only saw action in two sets tonight, earned eight kills and the highest hitting percentage on the team. Freshman middle blocker Asia Belli led the pack with four service aces and recorded five block assists. Two weeks ago, Rider had a singular block assist against Quinnipiac. Tonight, it blocked Quinnipiac 15 times, with a solo block and 28 block assists. No matter what Quinnipiac tried, Rider was always there to match it with more vigor, more power and as Robinson put it, more “hunger.” “Rider played a really good match,” Robinson said. “We didn’t play our game plan and execute well. That’s just how it goes.” The only upper hand that Quinnipiac held was its serve. The Bobcats added four more to Belli’s service aces, while Rider committed 12 service errors, many coming from Santiago herself, as her very powerful serve found outside of the court more than it did inside of it. Rider just had the drive and the grit to not let the ball touch its side of the court and it was no match for what Quinnipiac could come up with. THE FUTURE It was not a pretty final game for Quinnipiac. And it was not a pretty final game for the six graduating Bobcats. With this loss, Quinnipiac now loses the final players from the roster that completed the Cinderella story and beat Fairfield for the program’s first ever MAAC Title. It also loses the majority of its starting line-up. “Their play is program changing,” Robinson said. “Their level of commitment to the program has changed the identity of Quinnipiac volleyball.” The only ray of hope for the Bobcats is the performance of the next generation shown on the court tonight. If the team builds on the foundation that the returning roster provides, there are still many MAAC Championship games in its future. And with that, the 2025 season comes to an end.
https://quchronicle.com/91457/featured/quinnipiac-volleyballs-win-streak-ends-at-riders-hands-in-maac-semifinals/
