Comeback Kids! Volleyball Rallies From Two Down to Topple King's

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – In a matchup of two ranked USCAA squads, the #19 St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team erased a two-set deficit to defeat #14 King's College (NY), 3-2 (22-25,23-25,26-24,25-20,15-12), on Tuesday night at Brooklyn Technical High School.

St. Joseph's remains undefeated at home improving to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in USCAA play. The Lady Bears are off to their best start under head coach Kathleen O'Neill's five-year tenure. King's falls to 5-3 overall.

Junior Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic's) led the offense with a match-high 13 kills with five aces and a block. Senior Kim Matthews (Breeezy Point, NY/Bishop Kearney) recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 21 digs. Freshman Lauren GaNun (Breezy Point, NY/Fontbonne Hall), named Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week earlier today, put down 11 kills and had a match-high four blocks.

Five Lady Bears combined for 102 digs, second most by the team in a single-game all-time. Sophomore Nicole Rios (Astoria, NY/Mary Louis) anchored the defense with 34 digs, setting a new Lady Bear record, and added eight kills. Freshman Anna Carbone (Ozone Park, NY/Mary Louis) added 18 digs.

Junior Sabrina Cornia (Miller Place, NY/Miller HS) controlled the offense dishing out 38 assists and added 15 digs for her fifth career double-double. Sophomore Jennifer Moncino (Ridgewood, NY/Archbishop Molloy) finished with a match-high-tying six aces to go along with 11 digs and four kills.                                   

King's was led by Alexandra Rollis who had a team-high 15 points with nine kills and six aces. Four Lions finished with double-digit digs led by Kelli O'Donnell with 27.  Heather Harding handed out 27 assists.

The match was tightly contested from start to finish, with neither team gaining more than a six point separation. The two hour contest featured long rallies, 32 ties and 12 lead changes.

The Lions captured the first two sets with late surges. In the opening set, King's erased a 20-16 deficit behind the Rollis serve that handcuffed the Lady Bears all game and closed out the set outscoring the Lady Bears 9-2.  With both teams tied at 20-20 in the second stanza, the Lions used a 4-1 run to reach set point. St. Joseph's nearly rallied, erasing two set points before finding themselves in a 2-0 deficit.

St. Joseph's trailed for nearly the entire third set and it appeared they would go down in straight sets. Trailing 23-21, two points away from defeat, the Lady Bears outscored the Lions 5-1 capped by a Moran kill to force an extra set.

King's jumped out to a 10-4 lead to begin the fourth set, the largest by separation by either team, prompting an O'Neill timeout. But the Lady Bears reeled back the Lions to level the set at 15-15, took the lead, and never looked back forcing the deciding set. St. Joseph's saw its best offensive set in the fourth combining for 15 kills, nine coming from the middle duo of GaNun and Moran.

In the deciding set, the Lions took a small early lead, but three timely aces from Moncino gave the Lady Bears a 9-5 lead they wouldn't relinquish.  Rios brought up 10 digs in the final frame helping to limit the Lions to only two kills to clinch the comeback signature victory.

St. Joseph's begins a five-match road stand returning to action on Thursday, September 27th for a non-conference match against CUNY foe College of Staten Island starting at 7 p.m.