WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Madonna University volleyball team got off on the right foot in 2019 as the Crusaders went 2-0 on the first day of the Keiser University Invitational on Friday. The Blue and Gold defeated St. Thomas (Fla.) 3-1 in the morning then dispatched Columbia International University (S.C.) in three sets in the afternoon.

Jodie Kelly picked up where she left off last year as on offensive force as she finished the day with an impressive .444 attack percentage while Betsy Cook averaged over 10 assists per set in the victories.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Match 1 vs. STU

• The Bobcats won 9-of-13 points to begin the opening set but MU fought back and took the lead on a Kelly kill. The Blue and Gold were the first to 23 and led 23-21, but STU won the final four points to take a 25-23 win.
• St. Thomas again jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in set two, but Madonna countered with 5-of-6 points to take the lead. After the Bobcats went back up one, the Crusaders used a kill and a service ace from Tauri Hintz to go ahead for good. Karolina Noszczyk helped push the lead to four, 22-17, as she notched a kill and followed with three consecutive aces. STU won 6-of-8 points to make it close, but a DJ Sargent kill sealed a 25-23 win for MU.
• Madonna dominated the third and fourth sets as they outscored St. Thomas 50-23. MU hit .469 in the third set and .353 in the final game while the defense held the Bobcats to marks of .000 and -.031, respectively. 

Match 2 vs. CIU

• The opening set against Columbia International was close until Noszczyk stepped to the service line and led MU to six straight points to turn a 16-13 lead into a 22-13 advantage. Erica LaBaere tallied a pair of kills, Hintz and Kelly had one each and Noszczyk tallied another ace in the run. All told, MU scored nine of the final 10 points and capped the 25-14 win with a LaBaere kill.
• The Rams raced out to a 6-2 lead in the second game, but Mu responded with four straight points to tie the score. Things remained close until the 14-12 mark when a LaBaere kill gave MU the side-out and Olivia Sweeney served five straight points and recorded an ace to push the lead to eight, 20-12. Kills by Brigitte Vanderham and Luisa Wiewgorra sealed the 25-18 win.
• Madonna again fell behind early, but used a 10-2 run down 13-9 to take a 19-15 lead and never looked back. A Noszczyk service ace finished the sweep with a 25-20 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 12.43 - The Crusaders averaged 12.43 kills per set on the day and limited the Bobcats and Rams to a combined 9.71 per set
• .313-.127- Madonna finished the day with a .313 attack percentage to their opponents' mark of .127
• 17/14 - Kelly paced the offense with 17 kills against STU and added 14 against CIU and finished with a .444 mark on the day
• 42/30 - Cook was impressive in her first start at setter as she tallied 42 assists in match 1 and added 30 in the afternoon
• 22 - Olivia Sweeney played well as a libero as she tallied a team-high 22 digs on the day
• 5 - Noszczyk, who hit .375 on the day, was also impressive at the service line as she tallied a team-best five aces

JERRY'S WORLD

• On Betsy Cook - "Betsy executed the game plan to perfection. She moved the ball pretty well and got better as the matches went on. She kept it simple, found the hot attacker and allowed us to run an outside-in offense."
• On the day - "We played some pretty good defense today and it was a good day. We faced some good hitters today, but we've got some tough matches tomorrow. They are big, athletic teams with a lot of experience which should be a good test for us."
• On Jodie and Karolina - "Jodie was Jodie today, she had a good, strong, consistent game today. Karolina played well and her serve was solid today. She placed the ball where we wanted it and hit had a lot of movement." 

UP NEXT
The Crusaders, who have been in Florida since Wednesday, wrap up play at the Keiser University Invite on Saturday, Aug. 17. The Blue and Gold begin the day at 10 a.m. against College of Saint Mary (Neb.) and wrap up the day against Dakota Wesleyan University at 12 p.m. 

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