Courtesy of Delaware State Athletic Media Relations
Box Score
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass., Dec. 4, 2021 -- The Delaware State volleyball team's first appearance in a national championship tournament ended in a 3-0 loss to regional host Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the opening round of the 2021 National Invitational Volleyball Championship at BC's Power Gym on Saturday.
The scores were 28-26, 25-16 and 25-21.
The loss ends the Hornets' historic '21 season with a 26-5 overall record, the most wins in team history, while the Eagles (17-16) advance to the second round of the tournament.
Clare Naughton and Katrina Jensen led Boston College with 12 kills each, while Anna Murphy had 13 digs and four service aces for the Eagles.
All-MEAC First Team honoree Alondra Maldonado led Delaware State with eight kills and Valeria Otero had a team-high 10 digs.
The score was tied 14 times in the first set.
The Hornets led 22-20 on a kill by Kristi Gomez and was one point away from the set win after pulling ahead 24-22 on a winner by Otero.
Boston College answered with back-to-back points to even the score at 24.
Delaware State again was a point away from the set win after regaining the lead 26-25 on a kill by Maldonado, but the Eagles took the last three points to secure the first game.
The Hornets shook off the first set loss with a fast start to set two, opening up an 8-4 lead on a kill by Mayah Ngundam.
Boston College answered with a 7-0 run, and led 11-8 on a Delaware State error.
The Hornets cut the deficit to two on two occasions later in the set, but could get no closer.
The Eagles had 14 kills and four errors on 27 attacks for a .370 hitting percentage in set two.
In the third set, the score was 4-4 before Boston College took the lead for good. The Eagles opened up a 16-12 lead and held their biggest third set advantage at 24-19. Delaware State attempted a late comeback, scoring the next two points, but the set and match ended on a kill by the Eagles.
In addition to the first-ever national championship tournament appearance and record win total, the '21 Hornets also captured a share of the MEAC regular season title for the first time since 1987 and set a new team mark with 16 consecutive wins from Sep. 4 to Oct. 26, tops in the MEAC and third among all NCAA Div. I teams at one point this season.
The Hornets also posted a perfect record at home for the first time in team history (13-0), winning 39 of 40 sets played in Memorial Hall this season. DSU has also set new team records with 20 total shutouts, including win streaks of seven and six consecutive matches by 3-0 scores. Delaware State was 12-1 vs. non-MEAC opponents this season, also the best such mark in team history. In addition, DSU has set a new team record with 227 aces this season.