McGinty’s Nine Aces, Trio with Double-Double Not Enough for Women’s Volleyball in Back-and-Forth Senior Night Affair with St. Joseph’s (Long Island)

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, NY (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team fell to sibling rivals St. Joseph's University, NY (Long Island), 1-3 (28-26, 20-25, 20-25, 21-25) on Tuesday night at The Hill Center.

After seeing three set points in the opening stanza, the Bears (5-12, 4-6) took the final three points to win the set. The two sides battled throughout much of the match but the Golden Eagles (12-11, 6-3) won each of the remaining sets by no more than five points.

Prior to the start of the match, the Bears honored their six graduating seniors: Rosa Rosas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Edward R. Murrow), Teuta Hoxha (Kew Gardens, N.Y./Queens Metropolitan), Julie Boyd (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy), Carol Melo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep), Kaitlyn Intindola (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney), and Ayomide Adeoye (Brooklyn, N.Y./Edward R. Murrow).

How it Happened

Martina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep) notched a pair of kills to stretch the Bears' early lead to 11-6, the largest for any team in the set. Long Island went on a run and tied the match at 12-all. Despite holding on to set point on three occasions, Jillian McGinty (Glendale, N.Y./Queens Metropolitan) extended the period on a kill and giving the navy and gray set point, and then the set victory, on a pair of service aces.

Despite getting the first point in the second stanza, Brooklyn fell behind by as many as nine, 17-8. However, the Bears rallied their way back to 23-20 thanks to a pair of kills and a run of three-straight McGinty aces.  Despite their comeback effort, the team ultimately lost the set 20-25. 

The next set was incredibly tight with neither side leading by more than three. At 12-12, the visitors added some separation, leading by as many as seven, 21-14. The Bears did not go down without a fight as Urgo extended the set on a pair of kills while the Golden Eagles held on to set point, 24-20. A kill from libero Kellianne Dempsey gave Long Island the third set.

The fourth and final set saw little separation with the largest lead of the frame going to Long Island, 8-3. Trailing 15-11, McGinty helped spark a rally for the Bears to shift the momentum. The teams were tied at 19 when the Golden Eagles were able to take advantage of an error and several kills to win the set 25-20 and the match 3-1. 

For the Bears 

• Urgo led the team in kills with 14. Her 12 digs brought her to four double-doubles on the season. She also had three aces.

• McGinty's strong offensive performance resulted in nine service aces and three kills.

• Intindola brought up 10 digs and dished 11 assists to go with six kills.

• Rachel Meltsin (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) recorded 13 assists and 10 digs, rounding out the Brooklyn trio with double-doubles on the night.

• Melo held up the defense with a team high of 28 digs.

• Adeoye and Autumn Poppett (San Diego, Calif./Mission Hills) each had three total blocks.

Next Up

The Bears are away to Purchase College to conclude the 2022 season on Thursday, October 27 at 7 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJBKathletics.com/live.