Volleyball Drops Senior Night Match to Farmingdale

Patchogue, N.Y.—St. Joseph's Lady Eagles' (17-5, 6-2 Skyline) 3-2 loss to Farmingdale State's Rams (10-9, 4-3 Skyline) on Wednesday night was a tough one to swallow.  The two teams kept fans on the edge of their seats for the entirety of the five-set match though, with each of the last four sets ending in less than a five-point spread.  The contest also served as the team's Senior Night, during which they celebrated four-year student athlete, Ashley Larrea (Islip, N.Y./ Patchogue-Medford).

The loss, however, should not hurt the Eagles seeding much in next week's Skyline Conference Tournament. They will still host a home playoff game in the #3/#6 or the #4/#5 match-up.

Regardless of the final score, SJC came out on fire in the first set and seemed to take it with ease, winning the game 25-16.  The next set wasn't as successful for the Eagles whose slow start gave way to an early 7-1 deficit.  This gap proved to be too much to overcome for SJC as the Rams came away with the game, though just barely, with a score of 25-21.

The tables turned as St. Joseph's battled back in the third set and while both teams seemed to be neck and neck at the beginning, the Eagles pulled away when it mattered most, earning themselves the 25-21 win.

The 28-26 final score of the fourth set epitomized the closeness of the match as the Rams came back from a deficit to knock the Eagles out of the game, and in the fifth set, the entire match.

Despite the results, the match gave witness to some great plays by the Lady Eagles.  Melissa Garibaldi (Seaford, N.Y./ Island Trees) came away with 13 kills, Tiffany Willms (Centereach, N.Y./ Centereach) had nine and Heather Ferchland (Selden, N.Y./ Centereach) finished with eight.  Julianne Tierney (Bethpage, N.Y./ Bethpage) tallied 38 assists and amassed six kills while Senior Night honoree, Larrea, finished with 22 digs and two kills.

The Lady Eagles will avenge their loss on Saturday, at home, against the St. Joseph's Brooklyn Bears in their Dig Pink Match, a game dedicated to breast cancer awareness and fundraising.  The festivities begin at 12 p.m.