St. Joseph’s Splits in Saturday Skyline Action
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sage (12-7 (2-0)) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
St. Joseph's (L.I.) (9-9 (3-1)) | 17 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mt. St. Vincent (5-9 (1-1)) | 21 | 25 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 2 |
|
St. Joseph's (L.I.) (9-8 (3-0)) | 25 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
Patchogue, NY| The St. Joseph's College (L.I.) women's volleyball team (9-9, 3-1) defeated the College of Mount Saint Vincent in dramatic five-set fashion, but fell to The Sage Colleges 3-0 in Skyline Conference action on Saturday afternoon inside the Danzi Center.
The tri-match—which actually included four teams—featured SJC and CMSV at 10:00 AM, followed by Sage and Old Westbury at 12:00 PM before the finale between the Golden Eagles and Sage at 2:00 PM.
The opener was a tightly contested match that was pushed the limit, with both St. Joseph's and the Dolphins of Mount Saint Vincent compiling impressive runs. In the first set, with the score tied at eight, the hosts rallied for five-straight points, taking advantage of four CMSV errors before Claire Urizzo served up an ace. The Golden Eagles would fend off a mid-set push by the Dolphins before winning the set 25-21.
After surrendering nine of the first 10 points of the second half, St. Joseph's failed to regroup in the second and were defeated 25-21. The pivotal third set saw the Golden Eagles fall behind 12-5 early, but a 6-0 run spearheaded by a couple of Heather Ferchland kills drew the set back to within one point. The Dolphins rallied to build a 20-16 lead and held off St. Joseph's to inch out a 25-23 win.
Determined to level the match, the Golden Eagles brushed off the Dolphins in the fourth, finishing on a 7-0 run to win 25-12. In the fifth and deciding set, the two sides found themselves tied at four, but it was St. Joseph's that would rise to the occasion, scoring the next six points that included two AnneMarie Taggart kills and a Jenna Beekman ace. The Golden Eagles would clinch the come-from-behind 15-9 set and 3-2 match victory following a CMSV service error by Patsy Sewell.
Ferchland and Mount Saint Vincent's Ashleigh Scozzari—a duo that ranks in the top three in nearly all of the conference's attacking categories—shared the match-lead in kills with 21. It was the highest total of the year for Ferchland, the defending Skyline Player of the Year.
Courtney Wickline's 49 assists were at least 17 more than any other player in the match and her second-highest total on the year. Beekman's 15 digs were also a game-high.
The second match would prove to be wildly different, as Sage defeated the Golden Eagles 25-17 in all three sets to earn the sweep.
The Gators recorded the match's first nine points, but a seven-point rally by St. Joseph's later in the set tied the score at 12.The Golden Eagles inched out for the lead at 15-14, but Sage's 11-2 run would ensure its early 1-0 match lead.
In the second set the Golden Eagles failed to string together more than three points in a row and were inevitably defeated to fall behind 2-0. Midway through the third St. Joseph's knotted the score at 12, but again allowed the guests to pull away, allowing six of the next seven before cruising to the 25-17 set win a 3-0 clean sweep of the match.
The Gators limited Ferchland to just seven kills in the match. Courtney Bocchieri also recorded seven kills, while Beekman would again lead the match in digs with 14.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Friday, October 9, when they kick off the St. Joseph's College Tournament against Allegheny at 8:00 PM. The tournament will continue on Saturday afternoon with matches against Misericordia (2:00 PM) and New Jersey City (4:00 PM). Follow all the tournament's action live here.
