Women’s Volleyball Captures 5th Straight Hudson Valley Title

St. Joseph's swept New Rochelle in the semifinals and Sarah Lawrence in the championship match of the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference Championships held in Bronxville, NY at Sarah Lawrence College on Sunday afternoon.  This is the fifth straight Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference title and the Lady Bears have not lost a HVWAC match in three seasons.

In the semifinal match, senior Tamara Bulatovic(Queens, NY / Grover Cleveland) sparked the Lady Bear attack to dismiss New Rochelle in straight sets, 25-13, 25-22, 25-11.  Bulatovic hit .462 and finished with 14 kills, six digs and one solo block.  Senior Jaime Mascetti (Queens, NY / St.  John's Prep) dished out 18 assists and added two kills, two aces and two digs.  Sophomore Yliane Ulloa (Queens, NY / Midwood) led the Lady Bears defensively with nine digs.

In the championship match against Sarah Lawrence, the Lady Bears attack was even more dominant, leading to a 25-10, 25-17, 25-11 win for the title.  Bulatovic shone once again hitting .609, with 16 kills five digs, four aces and three solo blocks.  Senior Jaime Mascetti had 22 assists and two kills and Yliane Ulloa and Kimberly Donovan (Queens, NY / Grover Cleveland) contributed to the attack with six and five kills each.

For her dominant performance in both matches, Tamara Bulatovic was named HVWAC Tournament Most Valuable Player.  Bulatovic and fellow seniors Jaime Mascetti and Bala Huseinovic (Brooklyn, NY / New Utrecht) were named to the 2008 HVWAC All-Conference Team.

Much of the success this season can be attributed to first-year coaches Kathleen O'Neill (SJC '05) and Carol Jeanne Kavanagh(SJC '07) who were appointed on short notice after the sudden resignation of coaches Michael Schober and Mario Tang, inheriting a team that was 2-2 and adjusting to the departure of three starting seniors.  After a few matches for both the players and coaches to adjust, the Lady Bears were determined to show their resilience and coaches O'Neill and Kavanagh led the squad to finish the season on a 14 game winning streak at 18-4, not having dropped a set in their final 10 matches.