Women's Volleyball Wins First Skyline Conference Match, Splitting Purchase College Tri-Match

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Lauren GaNun (Breezy Point, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall) had 14 kills on the afternoon as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team earned their first Skyline Conference victory sweeping Purchase College but falling to SJC Long Island in three to split the Saturday afternoon twin bill.

The Basics

Match 1 

• Final Score:  SJC Long Island 3, SJC Brooklyn 0
• Set Scores: 25-10, 25-10, 25-19

Match 2

• Final Score:  SJC Brooklyn 3, Purchase 0
• Set Scores: 25-21, 25-21, 25-17
• Records: SJC Brooklyn (7-11, 1-5 Skyline), SJC Long Island (15-13, 7-1 Skyline), Purchase (0-20, 0-8 Skyline)
• Location: Purchase, N.Y.
• Arena: Purchase College Gym 

How It Happened

• In their opening match, their sibling campus rival Golden Eagles controlled most of the match never allowing the Lady Bears to pull ahead by more than two early in the third set.
• The Lady Bears were held to just 10 points in the first two sets and just 10 kills overall in the match. Heather Ferchland led SJC Long Island with a match-high 14 kills.
• In the match against Purchase, both squads jockeyed for the opening set with 11 ties and four lead changes. With the Lady Bears clinging to a 22-21 lead, GaNun pounded two kills as SJC took the last three points to seal the set win.
• Purchase led by as many as four in the second set before the Lady Bears used a 6-0 run, powered by three Nina DiCioccio aces, to draw even at 15-15 and pull ahead to a 19-15 lead, never trailing again in the frame.
• SJC raced out to a 10-3 lead in a wire-to-wire victory in set three. DiCioccio paced the Lady Bears with five kills and four digs in the clinching stanza.

For the Lady Bears

• Against Purchase, Lauren GaNun finished with 10 kills and fell one dig shy of her eighth double-double of the season.
• Nina DiCioccio totaled 10 kills and five aces on the afternoon and brought up 23 digs to lead the defense.
• Crystal Morgan chipped in seven kills and a solo block in the win over Purchase.
• Samantha Cacace got starting nod at setter against Purchase and dished out a career-high 22 assists.
• Anna Carbone had 14 digs to anchor the defense in the match against SJC Long Island.

The Bear Facts

• The Skyline Conference victory is the first for SJC Brooklyn in any sport since joining the conference this season.
• The Lady Bears improve to 4-1 all time against Purchase meeting for the first time since 2009.
• The Lady Bears fall to 3-6 all time against their sibling rivals dropping the last five meetings.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Lady Bears will close out their 2015 schedule next weekend with a pair of Skyline Conference tri-matches, hoping to clinch a spot in the Skyline Conference Tournament. The Lady Bears will face Sarah Lawrence College and The Sage Colleges on Saturday, October 31st in a tri-match starting at 1 p.m. hosted by Sarah Lawrence. Live stats and video available on SJCBears.com