Lady Bears Remain Atop HVWAC Sweeping New Rochelle

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team remained undefeated in Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference play capturing a straight-set, 3-0 victory (25-18, 25-17, 25-9) over the College of New Rochelle on Friday evening at the CNR Wellness Center.

St. Joseph's (12-5, 5-0 HVWAC) snaps a two-game skid and increases their lead atop the HVWAC standings to one game. The Lady Bears will face fellow conference unbeaten Sarah Lawrence (13-11, 3-0 HVWAC) next Thursday in a matchup to clinch the regular season title.

New Rochelle (8-12, 3-2 HVWAC), currently third in the HVWAC standings, drops their third straight overall and back-to-back league decisions.

Senior Kim Matthews (Breezy Point, NY/Bishop Kearney) recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 kills and a match-high 13 digs to lead the Lady Bears. Junior Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic's) pounded a match-high 11 kills against only one error for a .556 hitting percentage. Moran also landed a match-high-tying three aces with a block for a match-best 14.5 points.

Sophomore Nicole Rios (Astoria, NY/Mary Louis) helped anchor the defense with 10 digs, the only other player in double figures and Sabrina Cornia (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place HS) dished out 26 assists.

The Blue Angels struggled to find the rhythm offensively combining for only 14 kills. Meghan King and Elizabeth Johnston each had four kills to lead the attack. Dalila Rosado led the defense with nine digs and two blocks, both team highs.

In the opening set, the hosts jumped ahead early by as many as four points on two separate occasions, before the Lady Bears leveled the set and rolled off six straight points, to take the lead for good, 20-15.  The Blue Angels won three straight points to cut the deficit to two, before St. Joseph's closed out the set winning the final five points powered by kills from Jennifer Moncino (Ridgewood, NY/Archbishop Molloy), Matthews and Moran.

CNR built another early four-point lead in the second act, but the Lady Bears leveled the set again just before the midway point and utilized a 15 kill effort in the set – with four Lady Bears registering at least three kills – to pull away from the Blue Angels.

Moran led a dominant third-set victory, serving the Lady Bears to a quick 7-0 lead and finished with six kills in the set, more than the hosts combined, as St. Joseph's closed out the match with a 25-9 wire-to-wire set win.

The Lady Bears will get several days rest before beginning the final week of the regular season, returning to the court on Tuesday, October 23rd for a non-conference tilt against York College. First serve is set for 8 p.m. at the York College Gym.