Lady Bears Volleyball defeats St. Elizabeth, Takes Share of 1st Place

The Lady Bears defeated the College of St. Elizabeth Screaming Eagles 3-1 in a Hudson Valley Conference matchup on Tuesday night in Morristown, NJ.  St. Joseph's improves to 5-4 overall (2-0 HVWAC) and St. Elizabeth's drops to 7-5 (3-1 HVWAC).  The win puts the Lady Bears in a 3-way tie with Sarah Lawrence and St. Elizabeth's atop the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference.

St. Joseph's demonstrated their offensive prowess throughout the match, jumping to an early 14-7 lead and taking the first set 25-13.  The Lady Bears only dropped the second set as the Screaming Eagles found their rhythm offensively and set the Lady Bears scrambling on the defensive.  St. Joe's took control of the match in the third set winning 25-15 while hitting .308 recording 10 kills and committing only 2 errors.   The fourth set was a close set throughout remaining within 2 points.  With the Lady Bears leading 24-22, St. Joseph's closed out the match on an amazing kill by senior Tamara Bulatovic (Queens, NY / Grover Cleveland) who finished with a match high 11 kills, hitting an efficient .667.  Bulatovic also chipped in a team high 19 digs.  Senior setter Jaime Mascetti (Queens, NY / St. John's Prep) dished out 28 assists in the win.  The College of St. Elizabeth was led by Isabel Machuca (9 kills), Samantha St. Germaine (22 assists) and Renee Windeknecht (22 digs). 

The Lady Bears return to action on the road on Saturday in a tri-match hosted by Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY.  St. Joseph's will face Cooper Union in a non-conference match at 2:00 PM and then will play Sarah Lawrence in a Hudson Valley Conference match at 3:00 PM to determine first place.  Both teams currently have 2-0 records in the conference.