John Jay volleyball rallies to take down Fox Lane

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Tuesday, Sept. 8, John Jay traveled to Fox Lane, and at 20-20 in the opening set, Evangeline Santos served three aces to propel the home team to a 25-20 victory.

But the next three sets had the Wolves making sure there was plenty of separation at the outset of each. John Jay took the early leads and won by scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-18.

Anya Keaney began the second set with a kill, and her teammates didn’t let up. Kiera Goffey followed with an ace, while Euwen Chong and Audree Chong gladly took some help from the net. Euwen was on the serve and Audree on the kill, and both balls dropped as John Jay opened a 5-1 lead.

Maria DeGaetano was off on the next point with an errant bump, but she definitely made up for the miscue. The libero served two straight aces, and the Chongs kept making matters worse for Fox Lane. On a tight set, Audree Chong dropped a dink, and Euwen Chong added a block and a kill to open a 13-3 lead.

Fox Lane fought back nonetheless. Jordyn Forlenza stopped the run with an ace, Ottilie Kimmel added a pair of aces, and Alexa DeMartino stood tall at the net with a block to make it a 15-10 game.

Now it was John Jay’s turn to shift momentum, and DeGaetano did so with defense. She made a diving save, and on the ensuing play, Keaney knocked down the kill.

DeGaetano wasn’t done, either. Another diving save among her 30 digs set up Sivan Ohana for a back-row spike, and she connected.

Leading 19-13, the Wolves didn’t let up. Goffey ate up a pair of short middle sets for a 21-16 lead, and Nalaia Nosworthy swung from the outside for another point.

With three points to go, Sophia Calandros spread it around. Layla Grassi and Goffey scored with powerful swings, and the setter surprised Fox Lane with a second-ball dink to close out the set.

All tied at one set apiece, John Jay took a little time to separate in the third. After Blake Axelrod blocked, Euwen Chong killed Calandros’ saving dig, and Calandros went to the second ball again. It didn’t stay status quo for long, as five straight points included a Nosworthy block and two more DeGaetano aces.

Leading 8-3, Fox Lane scored the next two, but the Wolves weren’t impressed. DeGaetano did more dirty work on the floor, and Euwen Chong responded by painting the line with another kill.

Calandros then made it 11-6 with an ace. Next, Euwen Chong made Fox Lane see double, hitting the line again, and the lead extended to seven on Keaney’s first-ball slam.

Fox Lane fought back to 13-10, so John Jay went straight up the middle. Calandros put up two perfect short sets, and Nosworthy and Axelrod responded with middle kills for a 15-10 lead.

Two more kills came from Axelrod, prompting Fox Lane to call time. A minute later, Ohana served out, and Ava Rose killed to keep the Foxes in range.

Keaney negated the momentum, though. Her deep dink found an open spot in the back corner, and the six-point lead had Ruby Quinn teeing up a teammate. On the short set, Axelrod had another blast from the middle.

Fox Lane called time again, and the home team responded with another pair of points. It wasn’t good enough. Axelrod killed, Keaney aced, and Euwen Chong’s dink paved the way for Audree Chong to close the set with one of her five kills.

In the fourth, John Jay jumped out on the strength of Keaney. Two kills and two aces — among her 10 kills and four aces respectively — helped the Wolves take a 7-1 lead.

Fox Lane stayed in proximity, though. A winning dink by Aliana Modi stopped the run, and Forlenza added a pair of blocks to narrow the lead to 10-7.

The Foxes eventually got within two on a DeMartino ace, but then John Jay threw the rest of the deck at its opponents. Axelrod took another short set down the middle, Goffey dinked a winner, Keaney dropped an ace, and Quinn set up Axelrod for the last of her eight kills.

Leading 19-13, John Jay broke it open with a Keaney kill from the left and an ace. Euwen Chong and Grassi then sealed the deal with an ace and kill, respectively.