HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – The Centenary University women's volleyball team earned its second consecutive Atlantic East Conference victory Wednesday evening, defeating Immaculata University, 3-1, inside the John M. Reeves Student Recreation Center. The Cyclones secured the win by scores of 25-18, 25-27, 25-23 and 25-22.
Before the match, Centenary hosted a special Breast Cancer Awareness Night ceremony, honoring three incredible women: Gina Struble, mother of Elena Struble; Lee Ann Carvalho, mother of Casey Carvalho; and Leslie Cappello, mother of Isabella Cappello. The evening recognized their strength, courage and resilience while bringing the Cyclones community together to raise awareness and show support for those affected by breast cancer.
Centenary opened the match with a strong performance in the first set, securing a 25-18 victory to take an early advantage.
The second set featured a tightly contested battle as both teams exchanged points throughout the frame. Despite recording 12 kills, the Cyclones narrowly fell 27-25 as Immaculata evened the match at one set apiece.
With the match tied, Centenary responded in the third set, battling through another close frame to secure a 25-23 victory and regain control of the match.
The Cyclones carried that momentum into the fourth set, holding off a late push from the Mighty Macs to earn a 25-22 victory and complete the four-set win.
Poppy Skjonnemand led Centenary offensively with a match-high 16 kills, hitting .256 while adding eight digs and four service aces. Jennifer Thistlethwaite and Helen Bilomasur each contributed five kills, while Gabriella Miller added two kills, nine digs and three service aces. Adrienne Xiao directed the offense with 25 assists and five service aces, while Rey Bennett anchored the defensive effort with a team-high 15 digs and six service aces.
Centenary finished with 34 kills and an impressive 19 service aces, nearly doubling Immaculata's total of 10.
With the victory, the Cyclones improve to 7-9 overall and 2-0 in Atlantic East Conference play, continuing their strong start to conference competition on a meaningful night dedicated to breast cancer awareness.
