Women's Volleyball Triumphs Over King's (N.Y.) in HVIAC Opener
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Powered by a career-high-tying 20 kills from sophomore Lauren GaNun (Breezy Point, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall), the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team earned a 3-1 triumph (17-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-20) over King's (NY) in their Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) opener on Thursday night at Brooklyn Technical High School.
St. Joseph's (3-3, 1-0 HVIAC) has now won two matches in a row and sees their unbeaten streak in regular season conference play reach seven matches dating back to 2011. King's (2-9, 1-4 HVIAC) has now lost three out of their last four matches.
GaNun provided the punch to the Lady Bears offense finishing with her second double-double of the season, recording 16 digs to go along with her 20 kills and .333 hitting percentage. Senior Megan Moran (Syosset, N.Y./St. Dominic's) continued her streak of impressive play finishing the night with 18 kills and seven digs. Sophomore Anna Carbone (Ozone Park, N.Y./Mary Louis) helped pace St. Joseph's defense bringing up a match-high 26 digs while also recording three kills. Senior Sabrina Cornia (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller) helped orchestrate the offense recording her third double-double of the season with her 31 assists and 11 digs.
The Lions were led by Alexandra Rollis who recorded a double-double finishing with a team-high 16 kills and 20 digs.
The opening set saw King's lead from start to finish building an early 11-4 advantage and they would not look back as the Lady Bears never threatened again in the set.
After the way in which the Lions dominated St. Joseph's in the opening set it looked like it may be a three-set match in favor of King's. However, the Lady Bears had other ideas as they came out with more intensity in the second set going toe-to-toe with the Lions in the early part of the set as the score was tied at 10-10. St. Joseph's would build a 17-15 lead before scoring six points unanswered helped by four straight kills from GaNun giving the Lady Bears a 23-16 lead that proved to be too much to overcome for King's.
The beginning of the third set saw a repeat of the second as the action went back and forth with neither team gaining an advantage with the score being knotted up at 7-7. St. Joseph's built a small 13-11 margin in their favor before going on a 5-0 spurt, helped by three kills from the combination of GaNun and Moran, giving them an 18-12 lead that proved insurmountable.
The fourth and final stanza saw King's lead from the open as they took a 10-6 lead and the possibility of a fifth set was looming. The Lady Bears responded with five points unanswered to take a brief lead at 11-10 before the teams began to trade points with neither squad taking more than a two point lead. With the score tied at 17-17, St. Joseph's would go on an 8-3 run to close the set that would seal the victory.
The Lady Bears travel to Wilkes-Barre, Pa. as they take part in a tri-match against King's (Pa.) and Medgar Evers on Saturday, September 28th. First serve is slated for 11 a.m.
