Women’s Volleyball Stages Five-Set Comeback to Upend Old Westbury

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team (5-6, 1-1 Skyline) won their third straight match, overcoming a two-set deficit to stun SUNY College at Old Westbury (2-12, 1-2 Skyline), 3-2 (19-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-12), in a Skyline matchup on Wednesday evening.

Freshman Cristina Morales (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) posted team highs of 15 kills and 20 digs while classmate Makayla Beehler (Rockaway Beach, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) dished out 30 assists with 17 digs, seven kills, and five aces.

How it Happened

The Bears dropped the opening two sets, plagued by 11 hitting errors in the first that helped the hosts use a 6-1 run to pull away, and couldn't keep pace with the Panthers in the second who slammed 14 kills in the frame and never trailed.

The SJC offense got going in the third, racing out to a 12-3 lead powered by four straight aces and a kill by Valentina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep). But the Panthers clawed back into the set and drew even at 16-all and pulled ahead 20-18. With the set tied at 20-all, three straight kills by Morales—who finished with seven in the set—and a kill by Kayla Ostermann (Glendale, N.Y./Queens Metropolitan) powered SJC to their first set win, 25-23.

A tightly contested fourth set saw 10 ties and four lead changes with neither team ahead by more than two points until late in the frame. With the teams knotted at 18-all, a Briana Marrazzo (East Elmhurst, N.Y./St. John's Prep) kill put the Bears on top for good with the Panthers, committing six errors down the stretch to allow the Bears to close on a 6-2 run to force a deciding set.

A battle ensued in the fifth set with both squads trading the lead eight times and neither ahead by more than one point until three straight Panther kills gave OW an 11-9 advantage, prompting a Bear timeout. Out of the stoppage, Marrazzo had a pair of kills sandwiched around a Beehler ace that put SJC up 12-11 and forced a Panther timeout. A pair of Panther miscues gave SJC three match points, and Urgo slammed a kill that completed the comeback.

For the Bears

• Morales recorded her third double-double of the season and reached 20 digs for the fourth time this season.
• Marrazzo posted her fourth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 17 digs.
• Beehler had a solid all-around effort with her second 30+ assist game of the season along with 17 digs, seven kills, and five aces.
• Urgo finished with a match-best six aces, paired with 16 digs and five kills.

The Bear Facts

• The three-match win streak is the longest since the team closed out the 2015 season with a straight-set win over Old Westbury to finish on a three-match high.
• SJC rallied from two sets down for the second time this season upending Green Mountain College on September 16.

Next Up for the Bears

The Bears resume Skyline Conference play squaring off against The College of Mount Saint Vincent on the road on Tuesday (Oct. 9). First serve in Riverdale is set for 7 p.m. with live stats on SJCBears.com.