Women’s Volleyball Denied in Five Sets by Sarah Lawrence

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Despite three registering double-digit kills and two separate set leads, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team fell, 3-2 (17-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 17-15), to Sarah Lawrence College at The Hill Center on Wednesday evening in their Skyline Conference opener.

The Bears (2-2, 0-1 Skyline) were led by senior Cristina Morales (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) who put down a match-high 14 kills at a .324 clip. Sophomore Grace Kane (Breezy Point, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall Academy) added a 13-kill, 19 dig double-double. Junior Kaitlyn Intindola (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) dished out 34 assists and had 15 digs for a double-double.

How it Happened

SJC opened the match racing out to a 9-1 lead and never led by less than six in a dominant 25-17, but Sarah Lawrence (3-7, 1-0) returned the favor in the second stanza building an 8-2 advantage and cruising to a 25-13 win to level the match.

The Gryphons built an early lead in the third taking a 10-5 lead before the Bears responded with five straight points to level the set and extended to a 12-2 run to build a five-point lead of their own, 17-12, capped by a Kane kill. The visitors would later tie the set at 21-all but the Bears won the final four points to win the frame 25-21 and move back ahead.

SLC took a 6-1 advantage to open the fourth and lead by as many as 10 at 19-9, before SJC pulled within five, 20-15, but couldn't get any closer, going to a fifth set for the second straight match.

The deciding set was the closest of the match featuring eight ties and four lead changes. The Gryphons won the opening three points for a 3-0 advantage, but SJC rattled off four-in-a-row. The visitors took another three-point lead at 10-7 before a pair of Morales kills powered a 3-0 run that knotted the set at 10-all. After two more ties, the Gryphons earned the first match point at 14-13 that was negated by a big Martina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep) and Ayomide Adeoye (Brooklyn, N.Y./Edward R. Murrow) block. Kane then followed with a kill to give the Bears their first-and-only match point at 15-14, but Sarah Lawrence was able to side out and capture the next two points to escape, 17-15.

For the Bears

• Urgo rounded out three with double-digit kills with 11, also leading the defense with 28 digs and three blocks (one solo).
• Carol Melo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmond Prep) and Caitlyn Bilbao (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy) both finished with 20-plus digs, bringing up 27 and 20, respectively.
• Adeoye finished with five blocks (three solo) as the Bears led in blocks, 6-1.
• Junior Julie Boyd (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy) provided a spark off the bench and logged two kills and five digs.

For the Gryphons

• Kaille Ferguson and Georgi Massey both had 12 kills to pace the visitors, Ferguson also bringing up a match-best 35 digs.

Next Up

The Bears hit the road for three straight contests returning to the court on Monday, September 27 for a Skyline Conference match against SUNY College at Old Westbury. Originally a 6 pm start, first serve is pushed back to 7 p.m. at Farmingdale State College. Follow the action at SJCBears.com/live.