Women’s Volleyball Pushes Streak to Four Sweeping Tri-Match with York and Medgar Evers

JAMAICA, N.Y. — Following victories in both their home opener and Skyline opener this past week, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team (4-2) traveled to York College for a tri-match against the Cardinals and Medgar Evers College on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears swept the day, first downing York in straight sets (25-17, 25-13, 25-8) then defeating Medgar Evers 3-0 (25-5, 25-11, 25-17), pushing their win streak to four games and they'll look to carry their momentum into a home match against borough rival Brooklyn College on Tuesday (Sep. 17).

How It Happened vs. York
The opening set saw York take an early 5-2 advantage after a trio of SJC errors and a kill from Chrissy Hobson. St. Joseph's then went ahead 8-7 after a 5-1 run, but the lead would change four more times before the Bears went up 17-12 after a 6-0 spurt finished off by a Valentina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep) kill. SJC kept the lead for the remainder of the frame going on to win 25-17.

Set number two once again began with a slight Cardinal lead (3-1), but the Bears responded with an 11-2 run for a comfortable 12-5 advantage. They didn't look back, maintaining a healthy edge as Urgo put away another kill off an assist from rookie Kaitlyn Intindola (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) to go up 18-9. Senior Briana Marrazzo (East Elmhurst, N.Y./St. John's Prep) later fired back-to-back service aces to secure a 25-13 set victory and a 2-0 lead in sets.

The third stanza was all St. Joseph's as they immediately raced out to a 16-6 advantage behind a pair of kills and an ace from sophomore Cristina Morales (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep). Then, just as in set two, Marrazzo added back-to-back aces late to pad the lead and Morales went on to finish the match with another kill as the Bears cruised to a 25-8 win and 3-0 sweep.

How It Happened vs. Medgar Evers
The Bears controlled this one right out of the gates jumping out to a 16-1 lead behind three points each from seniors Marrazzo (3 kills) and Urgo (2 aces, kill). Medgar Evers failed to close the gap compiling just three kills as their other two points came on SJC errors giving the Bears a decisive 25-5 set win.

Medgar Evers' Melisa Wright put up back-to-back aces early in set two bringing the Cougars within one (7-6) and soon after they took their first lead of the match (9-7) after a couple of SJC errors. However, a 10-1 spurt that featured three points from Morales put the Bears back in control at 17-10. Medgar Evers only scored one more point over the rest of the frame and three-straight Cougar mishaps finished off a 25-11 SJC victory.

A pair of kills from freshman Teuta Hoxha (Kew Gardens, N.Y./Queens Metropolitan) led the Bears to an 11-5 advantage early in the third. SJC later extended their lead to nine (17-9), but a block assist from Cristina Carnegie and Sashamoni Burnett followed by a Diana Williams ace brought them within five at 17-12. The Cougars continued to rally but it wasn't enough as the Bears claimed a 25-17 triumph for their sixth set victory of the day.

For the Bears

• Marrazzo totaled 12 aces, 11 digs, and 10 kills on the day while classmate Urgo had 17 digs, seven kills, and five aces of her own.
• Morales put up a team-high 15 kills across the tri-match and Hoxha added 10 including a career-high seven against Medgar Evers.
• Intindola dished out 37 helpers on the day and picked up her fourth-straight game with double-digit assists.

Next Up
Another matchup with a CUNYAC opponent hosting borough rival Brooklyn College on Tuesday (Sep. 17) at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at SJCBears.com/live.