Lady Bears Volleyball Comeback Bid Against Patchogue Falls Short

After easily defeating Yeshiva University in straight sets in the home opener on Thursday night, the Lady Bears faced their cross-campus rival St. Joseph's - Patchogue on Saturday morning at Brooklyn Technical High School.

At the outset, the rainy weather outside seemed to affect the Lady Bears as they came out flat and sluggish while the Golden Eagles seemed energetic and enthusiasatic. Patchogue jumped to an early 13-4 lead in the first set prompting coach Kathleen O'Neill to call a time out which didn't change the momentum much as the Golden Eagles continued to win the set 25-13.

The second set seemed like it would go easily to Brooklyn as they jumped to an early 11-3 lead scoring 8 consecutive points on the serve of senior Tamara Bulatovic(Queens, NY / Grover Cleveland). However, Patchogue fought back to tie the set at 16-16 and it remained within 2 points until the end. With the set tied again at 23 and the Golden Eagles serving, the Lady Bears were unable to side out due to an error by Jamie Mascetti which gave set point to Patchogue. During a long rally which the Golden Eagles dug up several balls, they won the set 25-23 on a kill from setter Natalie Czelowalnik.

Despite letting the second set slip away, the Lady Bears were determined to show their perseverance, and the third set resembled that of the second. Neither team was able to amass more than a 3 point lead and it went back and forth throughout. However, this time, with the set tied at 25, the Lady Bears were able to get two consecutive points both on kills from senior Bala Huseinovic (Brooklyn, NY / New Utrecht), who finished with 6 kills for the match.

With the momentum clearly shifted in the Lady Bears favor, their offense seemed to come together as they hit .320 (10 kills / 25 attempts) led by sophomore Yliane Ulloa (Queens, NY / Midwood) and Tamara Bulatovic, who had 3 kills each and Jamie Mascetti(Queens, NY / St. John's Prep) with 9 assists. Brooklyn's offensive efficiency seemed to affect the Golden Eagles as they committed 11 attacking errors and hit -.051 for the set on 39 attempts. The Lady Bears easily won the set 25-17 and the match would go to a deciding set.

In the final set, momentum appeared to shift once again, and play resembled that of the opening set. The Golden Eagles displayed their offensive efficiency hitting .318 (10 kills / 22 attempts) and the Lady Bears appeared flat only able to register 1 kill in 13 attempts. Patchogue jumped to 7-4 lead which prompted another timeout from O'Neill, but the Lady Bears we unable to bring the set to within 2 points and ultimately lost 15-9.

The Golden Eagles were led by Melissa O'Connell (19 kills), Natalie Czelowalnik (53 assists) and Kasey Wood (35 digs). The Lady Bears were led by Yliane Ulloa (12 kills), Jamie Mascetti (29 assists), Bala Husenovic (15 digs) and Tamara Bulatovic (15 digs, 3 blocks).

The loss drops the Lady Bears to 4-4 and the Golden Eagles improve to 9-2. The Lady Bears return to action on the road on Tuesday night, Sep. 30th at 7:00 PM for a Hudson Valley Conference match against 1st place College of St. Elizabeth.