Women’s Volleyball Falls in Tri-Match in 2015 Opener

WAYNE, N.J. — Senior Lauren GaNun (Breezy Point, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall) amassed 17 kills on the day and freshman Nina DiCioccio (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) chipped in a team-high 21 digs, but the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team dropped a pair of non-conference, straight-set decisions to the College of Saint Elizabeth (25-18, 27-25, 25-6) and William Paterson (25-7, 25-4, 25-13) in their 2015 season opener on Saturday afternoon. 

St. Elizabeth 3, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 0 – (25-18, 27-25, 25-6)

How It Happened

• Rookie Nina DiCioccio would land a service ace to open the match and give the Lady Bears their only lead of the opening set. With the score later tied 5-5, the Eagles ran off five straight points and never trailed again. St. Joseph's pulled within two at the 17-15 mark, but couldn't erase the deficit.
• The Lady Bears raced out to a 9-2 lead in set two and led for the remainder of the frame, but couldn't capitalize on five set points as the Eagles won seven of the last eight points to steal the set.
• The Eagles continued their momentum of the second-set victory, taking the first seven points of the third stanza and never looked back, while the Lady Bears attack stalled producing only one kill in the frame.

For the Lady Bears (0-1)

• Lauren GaNun led the attack with 12 kills and one solo block.
• Anna Carbone directed the offense with 14 assists also adding a kill.
• Nina DiCioccio anchored the defense with a match-high 13 digs also tallying two kills
• Samantha Rossi chipped in three kills against no errors in her first collegiate match.

For the Eagles (1-2)

• Carolina Marte led all attackers with 14 kills hitting .257 with five aces.
• Mikaela Gongora added nine kills on an efficient .471 hitting percentage
• Nicole Morera dished out 33 assists, brought up a team-high nine digs and landed five aces.

Notes

• It was the 10th meeting between the former HVWAC rivals and first since September 13, 2011.
• St. Joseph's maintains an 8-2 lead in the all-time series with St. Elizabeth taking the last two encounters.  

William Paterson 3, St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) 0 – (25-7, 27-4, 25-13)

How It Happened

• The Pioneers committed just two attack errors and hit a combined .452 in the first two sets to win in convincing fashion.
• The final frame was more competitive with the teams trading the lead four time early and the set knotted at 10-10 before a 5-0 run for the Pioneers gave them the lead for good.

For the Lady Bears (0-2)

• Lauren GaNun had five kills and two blocks to lead the offense
• Nina DiCioccio led the defense for the second straight game with eight digs, also contributing four kills
• Anna Carbone and Shannon Fahy also aided the defense with seven digs, Carbone also handing out eight assists.

For the Pioneers (3-0)

• Nicole Spicer led two Pioneers in double-figure kills with 14 at a .571 clip and Erin Roach finished with 12 kills. Both fell one dig shy of a double-double.
• Kendall Caruso distributed 34 assists leading an attack that hit .341 for the match.

Notes

• The Pioneers take a 3-2 lead in the all-time series, winning their second straight meeting and first since October 3, 2009.

Next Up for the Lady Bears

• The Lady Bears will have a week off before continuing a four-match road stand to open the season, facing former HVIAC rivals Culinary Institute of America on Sunday, October 13th at 1 pm in Hyde Park, N.Y.