ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Moravian College volleyball team is clicking at just the right time ahead of the Landmark Conference tournament, powered by two wins at a tri-match on Saturday afternoon against Swarthmore College and rival Muhlenberg College.
The Greyhounds (12-21) defeated the Mules in the second contest of the day, 3-1, in their annual Matte Award match. The 18-25, 25-13, 25-11, 25-22 victory gave their school a 4-2 lead in the year-long, multi-sport battle against Muhlenberg for the Matte Award.
"We talked about how important the rivalry is, that we're the Blue and Grey and that we always have to come out on top," head coach Shelley Bauder said. "Muhlenberg is having a great year. I knew they would be pumped up for this match. After a tough start, we knew we could turn it around after the first set and we started playing like every point mattered. They upped their game and really played great."
Freshman middle hitter Taylor Kornmann led the way in the victory, recording 15 kills and only one error for a phenomenal .560 hitting percentage. Her setter, senior Kelly Brown, finished the rivalry contest with match-highs in assists (36) and digs (13).
The previous evening in Johnston Hall, Moravian fell to nationally-ranked Eastern University. It was during that match Bauder saw a beautiful connection developing between Brown and Kornmann.
"It's thanks to multiple factors," Bauder said. "We started to pass better so we can set our middle. It's hard setting a lefty middle, and Kelly and Taylor have worked so hard in making that option available. Last night I saw signs of the Moravian volleyball team that I know. I was hoping it would come through today, and it absolutely did."
Junior outside hitter Kelianne Comitalo filled up the stat sheet against the Mules with seven kills, two assists, six digs, two blocks and five service aces. Two of those aces helped clinch the match for the Greyhounds. The two sides fought to ties at 20-20 and 22-22. That's when Comitalo took over at the service line.
"Kelianne had a well-rounded match," Bauder said. "We only needed one more point to win, and she gunned a serve down the middle and they didn't have a shot. It was a big moment and her overall play was very good."
Sophomore Victoria Bobyak and senior Katelynn Strohl also helped the Greyhounds with a pair of service runs in the Muhlenberg victory.
Moravian began the day with a straight-set victory over Swarthmore, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18, which snapped a 10-match losing streak for the Hounds.
Brown and Kornmann were at it again, with Brown dishing out 33 assists and Kornmann putting away 18 kills on a .455 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Hostetler pitched in with eight kills and eight digs, and sophomore libero Andrea Giardina came up with 11 digs.
Kornmann finished the regular season with 335 kills, which is fifth in the Landmark Conference at the end of the 2013 slate. Brown finishes her final regular season with 1,140 assists, which leads the conference.
The duo of regular season-ending wins came at a perfect time for the Greyhounds, who enter the Landmark Conference tournament as the No. 5 seed and travel to No. 4 The University of Scranton on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.
"We're better team than a 12-win club," Bauder said. "We're starting to prove it and it should be a catalyst that should bode well for Tuesday. We're clicking at the right time and turning it up a notch."
