Women’s Volleyball Opens Conference Play Outlasting Pratt

BROOKLYN, NY – In a tightly contested Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference battle that had all but one set decided by two points, the St. Joseph's College women's volleyball team defeated Pratt Institute, 3-1 (26-24, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23) on Tuesday evening.

St. Joseph's (6-6, 1-0 HVWAC) saw several Lady Bears with career best contributions in the triumph. Rookie sophomore setter Sabrina Cornia (Miller Place, NY/Miller High) directed the offense with a career-high 34 assists, sophomore outside hitter Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic's) tallied a career-high 19 digs and senior outside hitter Kim Matthews (Brooklyn, NY/Bishop Kearney) registered 17 kills, one short of her career-high and added 11 digs for her fourth double-double this season. Freshman Nicole Rios (Astoria, NY/Mary Louis) chipped in eight kills and senior Kathy McCarthy (Breezy Point, NY/Fontbonne Hall) added seven kills.

Pratt (2-2, 2-1 HVWAC) was led by Deniz Ozguven and Alison Main who had nine kills each and 22 and 17 digs, respectively. Jenny Sereeyothin had 17 assists.

In the opening set, the Lady Bears faced a 23-16 deficit and managed to erase five set points to steal the opening set 26-24, setting the tone for the match.

In the second stanza, Pratt managed a small early lead, but St. Joseph's closed the deficit and both teams exchanged the lead from the 16-16 mark. St. Joseph's won three of the final four points to take the set, 25-23.

Pratt utilized a late 5-0 run in the third set and was able to hold off another St. Joseph's rally to force an extra set, 25-20.

Pratt threatened to force a fifth set, like when the two teams met last season, the Cannoneers jumping out to another early lead, only to have the Lady Bears equalize the set late and both teams battling to the finish. As in the second set, St. Joseph's managed to take three of the final four points to close out the match.

St. Joseph's returns to action at the St. Joseph's (Long Island) Invitational Tournament. The Lady Bears will face York College and Farmingdale State on Friday, October 14th starting at 4 p.m. and then play HVWAC rival Sarah Lawrence on Saturday, October 15th at noon in the pool round.