Women’s Volleyball Defeats Yeshiva in Opening Match

NEW YORK — The St. Joseph's University, NY (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team opened their 2022 slate with a straight-set victory (25-12, 25-12, 25-12) over conference rival Yeshiva University on Sunday afternoon from the campus of Baruch College.

How it Happened

After the Bears (1-0, 1-0) possessed an early 2-0 lead, the two sides alternated points before the Maccabees (0-2, 0-1) took their lone lead of the first set, 5-4. At 6-6, SJBK used a 10-0 run to take a double-figure lead, 16-6. Holding on to a sizable lead, sophomores Martina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep) and Joell McKeon (Narrowsburg, N.Y./Sullivan West) then combined for three kills to claim the first set, 25-12.

The Bears began the second stanza with a pair of Urgo aces but the hosts clawed back to take the 6-5 edge. The navy and gray retook the lead behind back-to-back aces from Julie Boyd (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy). In total, St. Joseph's racked up 12 service aces in the set while six different Bears recorded kills, en route to another 25-12 set win.

Yeshiva started the final set with a 4-1 advantage, their largest lead of the match. Three kills from Boyd along with a Rachel Meltsin (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) ace gave the Bears the 5-4 lead. Propelled by a team-leading four kills in the set from senior Kaitlyn Intindola (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney), the navy and gray pulled away to complete the sweep of the Maccabees; beginning the season on the win column.

For the Bears

• Intindola's match-high seven kills are a career-high. She dished out nine assists, also a match-high, and served up a trio of aces. The senior also picked up the team's lone block.

• Urgo registered seven kills, as many digs, and six service aces.

• Boyd led the Bears in digs with 10. She also totaled four kills and three aces.

• Jillian McGinty (Glendale, N.Y./Queens Metropolitan) finished with a team-leading eight aces to go with three digs and a pair of kills in her first collegiate match.

• Meltsin, also in her SJBK debut, dished out eight dimes, brought up five digs, and racked up a pair of aces.

• McKeon and Autumn Poppett (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) combined for six kills with the former finishing with five digs.

Up Next

The Bears open a four-match homestand on Wednesday, September 7 against the City College of New York. First serve from The Hill Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. with live stats and video available on sjbkathletics.com/live.