Women's Volleyball Closes Regular Season with Straight Set Win over Sarah Lawrence

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. – Lauren GaNun (Breezy Point, N.Y./Fontbonne Hall) slammed a team-high 15 kills as the St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) women's volleyball closed the regular season with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-21) win over Sarah Lawrence Friday night at the Campbell Sports Center.

Anna Carbone (Ozone Park, N.Y./Mary Louis) dished out 17 assists and had five service aces, while senior Jennifer Moncino (Ridgewood, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) contributed 16 digs to go along with six kills for the Lady Bears (8-11). Freshman Samantha Cacace (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) chipped in with eight digs of her own.

Xina Graham-Vannais notched a double-double with 13 assists and 11 digs for the Gryphons (2-18) in a losing effort.

After falling behind 3-2, the Lady Bears roared their way back into the lead to take the first set. They were led back by five kills by this past week's AD3I and HVIAC Player of the Week GaNun and two service aces by Cassandra Nasta (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Saviour).

In the second stanza, St. Joseph's led wire-to-wire and was fueled by seven of the team's 16 service aces in the set, including three in a row by Carbone.

The early part of the third set saw both teams go back and forth, but an 8-2 Lady Bears run helped put them up as much as 17-9. GaNun accounted for five of the eight points during the run with four kills and a service ace. Sarah Lawrence would fight back to get within three, but two service errors closed out the win for St. Joseph's.

Following their regular season finale, the Lady Bears now embark the HVIAC Semifinals against the College of New Rochelle Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at the Wellness Center in New Rochelle, N.Y. The winner will face off in the finals at 4:00 p.m. against either Pratt or The King's College.