District of Columbia Volleyball Swept By NYIT

WASHINGTON, DC  –  The University of the District of Columbia volleyball team's three-match win-streak came to a halt Thursday night as the Firebirds were swept on their home floor by East Coast Conference foe New York Institute of Technology, 3-0.

The Firebirds (5-6, 1-1 ECC) were led offensively by junior Tara Usko (History – Spring Creek, NV/Spring Creek HS) and freshman Jazmin Rogers (Mechanical Engineering – Tucson, AZ/Palo Verde HS) with seven kills apiece. Meanwhile, junior Julia Lynch (Art – Spring Creek, NV/Spring Creek HS) was District of Columbia's catalyst defensively with a match-high 10 digs.

"I felt the team played very hard tonight, but we just fell short against a very good opponent," head coach Sheila Weaver said. "I want to make special mention of Julia Lynch, who really gave a terrific effort for us on the defensive end."

The Bears (7-1, 2-0 ECC) attack featured Katarina Sretenovic who had match-highs of nine kills and five service aces while hitting a scorching .643 pct. Shelby Cable and Kate Brock each tallied eight kills as well as the Bears hit .354 as a team and combined for 11 blocks.

In the first set, the Firebirds held the lead five different times and forced 10 ties, including a 22-22 deadlock toward the end of the set. District of Columbia once led by as many as three (15-12) after a 5-0 surge helped along by two Lynch service aces. However, NYIT would close out the set on a 3-0 run to take the first set, 25-22 and claim a 1-0 match lead.

The Firebirds scored the first point of the second set, but the Bears raced out to an 8-2 advantage helped by two Sretenovic service aces, and they never looked back. Twice, District of Columbia pulled within a point (12-11, 13-12), but a 7-0 spurt by NYIT pushed the gap to eight, 20-12, and the Firebirds could not make up the difference as they fell, 25-18.

The Bears gradually pulled away in set three for a 25-12 win. The visitors took early leads of 5-2 and 9-4 and then widened the gap to 16-7 and 23-11 before ultimately winning by the biggest margin of the night.

District of Columbia will look to bounce back on Tuesday, September 25^th at 6:00 p.m. as it hosts ECC foe Queens College.