Women's Volleyball Poised for Strong Run at HVIAC Title

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Looking to capture their first conference championship title since 2008, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team heads to The College of New Rochelle on Sunday as the No. 1 seed at the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (HVIAC) Tournament with a matchup against No. 4 seed and Clinton Hill rival Pratt Institute in the semifinals set for 2 p.m.

The Lady Bears completed the 2013 regular season 13-7 and finished HVIAC play undefeated for the second consecutive year extending their winning streak in regular season league play to 14 games.

Last season, St. Joseph's entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and were upset by No. 4 seed Culinary falling in four sets to a Steels team that ended up losing in the finals to Sarah Lawrence. 

The Lady Bears defeated the Cannoneers 3-1 on Pratt's home court earlier in the season. The second semifinal features a matchup between No. 2 seed and hosts The College of New Rochelle and No. 3 seed Culinary played at 2 p.m. as well. The winners of the two semifinal games will face off for the championship at 4 p.m.

A St. Joseph's win would set up a matchup against the host Blue Angels who the Lady Bears swept at Brooklyn Tech for their only league loss or the Steels who the Lady Bears topped in an intense five-set match last Sunday to clinch the regular season title. New Rochelle has proven to be tough to defeat on their home court as they finished the regular season going 11-3 and have won seven in a row overall entering tournament play while Culinary finished with an impressive 12-3 mark on the year and upset the Lady Bears in the semifinals last season.

Leading the St. Joseph's attack is three-time HVIAC Player of the Week sophomore middle hitter Lauren GaNun who leads the conference with 4.07 kills per set and a .303 hitting percentage. Also, providing support is senior Megan Moran who ranks second in the HVIAC with 3.21 kills per set and is third with a .201 hitting percentage.

New Rochelle, seeks their first title since 2010 when they won two straight and enters this weekend's action eclipsing the 20-win mark for the first time in school history and are led by three-time HVIAC Player of the Week junior Meghan King and four-time Rookie of the Week Indigo Flowers.

Pratt seeks their first championship in school history and are led by HVIAC Rookie of the Week Hannah Calderwood who led the team with 2.13 kills per set. Culinary, who won the league title in 2011, their first year in the league in, is led by HVIAC Rookie of the Week Emily Brown who paces the team with 1.67 kills per set.

In 2008, the last time the Lady Bears won the conference tournament they defeated both New Rochelle and Sarah Lawrence in straight sets to earn their fifth title in a row.