DiCioccio’s 19 Points Vault Women’s Volleyball Over Purchase to Split Tri-Match

NEWBURGH, N.Y. — Looking to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team traveled to Mount St. Mary College on Saturday for a Skyline tri-match, along with Purchase State College. The Bears handled Purchase State in straight sets, but finished on the wrong end of a sweep against Mount St. Mary.

The Basics

• Final Score (Match 1): St. Joseph's 3, Purchase 0
• Set Scores (Match 1): 25-18, 25-9, 25-23
• Final Score (Match 2): Mount St. Mary 3, St. Joseph's 0
• Set Scores (Match 2): 25-10, 25-15, 25-21
• Records: Mount St. Mary (11-17, 4-3), St. Joseph's (7-10, 3-5), Purchase (0-18, 0-8)
• Location: Newburgh, N.Y. — Kaplan Center

How It Happened vs. Purchase State

• The Bears opened the match on a 4-1 run, which the Panthers immediately answered with their own 4-0 spurt. Sure enough, SJC returned the favor with another 4-0 run, capped off by a Nina DiCioccio (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) kill, to put them up 8-5.
• Back-and-forth was the theme of the first set, as the two squads found themselves in a 17-17 gridlock late. However, Paige Csikortos (Rocky Point, N.Y./Rocky Point) orchestrated a 9-1 Bears' run with five assists, putting the frame away, 25-18.
• Set number two belonged to St. Joseph's, as they didn't allow the Panthers to lead once. DiCioccio led the way, compiling four kills and four aces in the stanza, en route to a convincing 25-9 victory for the Bears.
• An 8-1 run in the middle of the third put SJC up 12-7, but Purchase State refused to fold that easily. With the set tied at 18, DiCioccio rattled off three-straight aces for a 21-18 Bears' lead. Despite this, the Panthers fought to bring it back to even at 22. Then, two Purchase ball-handling errors gave the Bears' match point, and a Briana Marrazzo (East Elmhurst, N.Y./St. John's Prep) block put the exclamation point on St. Joseph's third league win of 2017.

How It Happened vs. Mount St. Mary

• The Knights opened the match up on fire, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. After two Bears' points, the hosts came right back and cruised to a 12-0 run to essentially put the set away. DiCioccio led SJC with two kills in the frame, but they fell 25-10.
• A closer second set was in order, with the Bears trailing by just two, 10-8, after four assists from Csikortos. Mount St. Mary didn't let the competitiveness last, however, as a 7-2 run extended their lead to 17-10. They didn't slow down, winning the second 25-15 on six kills from Danielle Kralik.
• St. Joseph's showed some life in the third, as they kept things close throughout and didn't allow the Knights to jump out to a set-sealing run early. Mount St. Mary held a controlling 23-17 lead towards the end of the period, but a 4-0 Bears' run with Dana Roussos (Astoria, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) serving narrowed the gap. The comeback halted there and the Knights came away with third 25-21 (and the match 3-0), good for their fourth Skyline triumph of the season.

For the Bears

• DiCioccio wore almost every hat for the Bears against Purchase, totaling a match-high 19 points on 12 kills (.312) and seven aces, along with seven digs. She led the team versus Mount St. Mary as well, tallying a team-high nine kills in the loss.
• Valentina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep) picked up the second double-double of her sophomore campaign, with 10 kills and 13 digs.
• Csikortos had her second-highest assist output of the year (32 twice) against Purchase, dishing out 26. Additionally, she notched her ninth double-double of 2017 in the Mount St. Mary match, with 16 assists and 10 digs.

The Bear Facts

• With the win over Purchase, the Bears jumped Yeshiva in the Skyline standings to slide into eighth place (top six teams qualify for playoffs). They have two remaining league matches.
• Csikortos' nine double-doubles lead the team, and she has four remaining opportunities to hit double-digits.
• The Bears have now defeated the Panthers via sweep for the third year in a row.

Next Up for the Bears

• Their final bout with the CUNYAC of 2017, taking on Lehman College on the road on Tuesday (Oct. 24). First-serve is 7 p.m. with live stats and video at SJCBears.