Volleyball Splits Tri-Match, Beating CCNY and Falling to Montclair

Patchogue, N.Y. — The Golden Eagles (6-5) were very close to perfect on Saturday at their tri-match in the Danzi Center gymnasium.  After beating CCNY (4-8) handily 3-0, they were only three points away from doing the same against Montclair State (10-3). A strong push by MSU in the final moments of the third set caused a fourth game, which was then followed by a fifth. At days end, the Eagles walked away with an easy win and a heart wrenching loss.

The Eagles kicked off the tri-match against CCNY at noon and needed a few possessions to get their footing as the Beavers took an early lead. The Eagles finally found their groove midway through the set, tying the game at 15, proceeding to take the lead and refusing to give it back. Coming from behind, the home team ultimately won the set 25-19.

The second set saw much of the same patterns as the first. The Beavers came out of the gate strong, even attaining as much as a four-point lead. The Lady Eagles remained calm, however, their poise allowing them to come back yet again. SJC went on a nine point run to take a sizable lead, the run led by Erin Kelly's (Ridge, NY/ Longwood) serves, five of which were aces. The Eagles won the game efficiently, 25-22.

The Eagles didn't wait around to affirm their prowess in the third set, jumping out to a lead from the first possession.  CCNY certainly put up a fight, going on a five point run at the end to bring the game to 24-23, but a kill by Heather Ferchland (Selden, NY/ Centereach) ended both the set and the match, the Eagles walking off the court as victors.

The match against Montclair was a game of momentum. The Eagles sized up their completion early, taking advantage of their errors and taking the first set with plenty of room to breath, 25-12. The Red Hawks pushed back only slightly in the second set, if only putting a few more points on the scoreboard, but the Eagles were on a roll and unwilling to slow down, effectively winning the set 25-18.

The third set began just like the previous two and certainly deceived fans — if not the teams as well — into thinking the result would be a third and final SJC win. Midway through the set, however, momentum switched, and whether it was fatigue or disorientation from their opponent's sudden burst of energy, the Eagles were unable to gain it back. After the set tied at 23, the Red Hawks went on to win their first set of the match, 25-23.

The next two sets were both down to the wire, the Eagles continued to fight, but the Red Hawks' well timed impetus did not falter and they won the match, 3 games to 2.

The day gave witness to great successes for the Golden Eagles, both as a team and as individual players. Over the course of the two matches, Ferchland slammed down 31 kills, Julliane Tierney (Bethpage, NY/ Bethpage) logged an impressive 74 assists and 17 digs, and Melissa Garbaldi (Seaford, NY/ Island Trees) had 17 kills. Courtney Wickline (Medford, NY/ Bellport) defended the back line with a total of 20 digs while Tiffany Willms (Centereach, NY/ Centereach) and Manuela Palacio (Islip, NY/ Islip) had 12 kills each.

The Lady Golden Eagles will host Newbury on September 26 for a 7 p.m. non-conference match.