Women’s Volleyball Stifled by New Jersey City in Hill Center Finale

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team played their final home and non-conference game on Thursday night, hosting New Jersey City University. A fairly close first set ended in a 25-20 win for the visitors, followed by a marathon second won by the visitors 36-34. New Jersey City then cruised in the third to end their season on a high note with the victory.

The Basics

• Final Score: New Jersey City 3, St. Joseph's 0
• Set Scores: 25-20, 36-34, 25-14
• Records: New Jersey City (13-14), St. Joseph's (7-12)
• Location: Brooklyn, N.Y. — The Hill Center

How It Happened

• A Gothic Knights' attack error narrowed the SJC deficit to 8-9 early in the first. The visitors would extend their lead to 17-12, but a 5-1 Bears' run would tighten the gap to just one. However, New Jersey City would hold on for a 25-20 set victory on the back of seven kills from Stephanie Duque.
• The Bears jumped out to an 11-4 second-stanza lead after an ace from Tiffany Garcia-Lawson (Floral Park, N.Y./St. John's Prep). But, soon after, three straight NJCU aces from Shaylah Ware would knot things at 18-all. From there, affairs became very interesting, as the Bears failed to convert six set-points in a back-and-forth marathon set which went in favor of the Gothic Knights, 36-34.
• Despite being down by as much as four, a New Jersey City service error would bring the Bears within one in the third at 14-15. Unfortunately, that would be the hosts' final point of the night as Ware served up 10 straight points rifled back-to-back aces to take the set 25-14 to close the match.

For the Bears

• Junior Nina DiCioccio (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) paced SJC, notching seven kills, 13 assists, and eight digs.
• Garcia-Lawson hit a match-high .357 with seven kills and two aces, totaling a team-high nine points.
• Briana Marrazzo (East Elmhurst, N.Y./St. John's Prep) and Kathleen O'Dea (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) anchored the defense with 11 digs apiece.

The Bear Facts

• The Bears wrapped up non-league play with a 4-7 record, which is down from last season's 8-3 mark outside of the Skyline.
• In the first meeting since 2012, SJC falls to 0-5 all-time against the Gothic Knights in a series that started in 2000.

Next Up for the Bears

• Their final two tilts of the season, via tri-match, taking on Farmingdale State and Yeshiva at Baruch College on Sunday (Oct. 29). First match starts at 1 p.m. and second at 3 p.m. with live stats available for the latter at SJCBears.com.