Matthews Notches Career High 19 Kills as Lady Bears Split Tri-Match

BROOKLYN, NY – The Lady Bears welcomed a pair of opponents to Brooklyn Technical High School this past Saturday, hosting a tri-match with Bryn Athyn and Mount Saint Vincent. St. Joseph's stumbled out of the gate, dropping the first match to the Bryn Athyn Lions, but found their footing and cruised past Mount Saint Vincent to go 1-1 on the day.

The Lady Bears (11-9, 3-0 HVWAC) were competitive early in the first two sets of match number one against the Lions, but Bryn Athyn was able to separate late for victories of 25-15 and 25-15. St. Joseph's came back to avoid the sweep, winning the third set 25-22. Kim Matthews (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) had five of her team-high 11 kills in the set. Bryn Athyn killed off any momentum the Lady Bears gained from the third set win by taking an early lead and going on to win the set 25-12 and the match 3-1.

St. Joseph's finished with five girls with double-digit digs, led by Matthews' 14, her eighth double-double of the season. Sabrina Cornia (Miller Place, NY/Miller High) also picked up a double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs and Jennifer Moncino (Ridgewood, NY/Molloy) set a career high with 12 digs.

Kaitlyn Brock led the Lions with a double-double herself landing a match high 17 kills and notching 15 digs.

The Lady Bears started out hot in set number one of the nightcap with the Dolphins. They built a commanding 12-5 lead and led from start to finish taking the opening frame. Mount Saint Vincent used a 6-0 and 8-0 run to help them even the match with a 25-12 victory.

St. Joseph's resiliency showed through as the Lady Bears failed to get down on themselves and came back roaring. A tightly contested third set turned into a large Lady Bear lead with the help of a 6-0 run to break a 13-13 tie. The Lady Bears took a 2-1 advantage with the 25-19 win.

The fourth and final set saw seven ties and six lead changes before the Lady Bears won in extra points 26-24. St. Joseph's was on the brink of letting the set slip away trailing 24-22, but after a timeout the Lady Bears got a kill from Matthews and two consecutive kills from Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic's) to tie and take the lead. Matthews sealed the win with a service ace to earn a split for the evening.

Matthews finished with a career high 19 kills, the most by a Lady Bear since 2007. Fifteen of her 19 kills came in the third and fourth sets.

Moran also played a big part in the hit parade, setting a career high in kills of her own with 14. She now has double digit kills in three of her last seven games. Cornia recorded her second consecutive double-double with 32 assists and 13 digs.

Kristine DeMasi led the Dolphin attack with 14 kills and Erin MacBride finished with a double-double registering 28 assists and 17 digs.

The Lady Bears gear up for a Hudson Valley Conference match with conference leader the Culinary Institute on Sunday, October 23. The battle for first place starts at 4:00 pm.