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Crusaders make most of time in road victory ETNA, Calif. - It took 21/2 hours, but the wait was worth it for the St. Mary's volleyball team and their coach James Joy in a season-opening contest. The Crusaders shook off a tentative start to down Etna, Calif., 13-15, 15-10, 10-15, 15-9, 15-5 in a marathon, non-conference win on Wednesday. Matches are best three-out-of-five in California, leading to a long night for St. Mary's. The match got off to an inauspicious start, however, for the Crusaders. "We were really tentative for some reason (in Game 1)," said Joy, whose team returned only two starters. "The score was close but we just weren't clicking." The pep returned in Game 2. Christina Vaninetti stepped up with eight of her team-high 17 kills in the momentum-swinging second game. After dropping the following match due to a "really good game plan," according to Joy, the Crusaders regained their swagger to close out the final two matches. Brittany Lawson and Melissa Anderson served St. Mary's back into the decisive Game 5, after falling behind 5-1. Lawson served the Crusaders into a 5-5 tie and Anderson - with St. Mary's leading 8-5 - closed out with points 9-15 from the service line. "We really shut the door on them," said Joy. "Which is good, because we haven't been doing that. "We're still trying to find where everyone needs to play and get used to what we're doing." Anderson paved the way with 52 assists, while Libby Trum had 16 kills and 24 digs. Teammate Chrissy Seus added 14 kills and 24 digs and Kathryn Zielony led the way with 27 digs from the back row. Kristina Easton also came through with 18 digs, but more importantly, went 20-of-21 from the service line, including five of her team's 11 aces. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.