Women’s Volleyball Wraps Reg. Season with Wins Over Sarah Lawrence, Sage

Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Troy, NY| With a sweep of Sarah Lawrence and a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Sage on the road on Saturday afternoon, the St. Joseph's College (L.I.) women's volleyball team completed its regular season on a nine-game winning streak and carry a 13-13 (8-3 Skyline) record into postseason play, which begins on Tuesday evening.

At the conclusion of their matches on Saturday, the Golden Eagles sat in third place in the Skyline Conference standings and would host a first round match should results hold.

SJC 3, SLC 0

After falling behind 5-1 in the first set, the Golden Eagles used a massive 24-4 run to win the opening frame before cruising to a 25-14 win in the second set. A bit tighter in the third, SJC went up 19-8 but a 5-0 run by the Gryphons brought the game back to within six points (19-13), although a 6-3 run by the guests saw them earn  25-17 set and 3-0 match victories.

Leading all players in kills was freshman Jessica Nicholson, who collected nine in the match. Juniors Claire Urizzo and Morgan Tiska contributed seven and six, respectively, to the Golden Eagles kill total of 37.

Junior Jessica Monteserrato dished out a game-best 18 assists, and sophomore Danielle Senecal collected a game-high 15 digs.

SJC 3, Sage 2

After a pair of heartbreaking defeats (25-23 and 25-22) in the first two sets SJC mounted its comeback in the third set and cruised to a 25-12 victory to draw the match back to 2-1.

Sage pulled ahead 15-12 in the fourth set but SJC used a 12-2 run and rallied for a 25-17 victory to tie the match at two. Up 8-6 in the fifth, the Golden Eagles capped off the comeback with seven of the next eight points to win the match 3-2.

Seniors Kiersten Kissinger and Courtney Bocchieri led the way for the Golden Eagles, contributing 20 and 16 kills, respectively. For Kissinger it was her highest kill total of the season, and for Bocchieri her second highest total on the year.

Urizzo and Tiska both contributed 10 kills of their own in a match that saw SJC generate 63 kills, the team's highest total of the season.

Senior Courtney Wickline dished out a season-high 50 assists, which brings her season total to 577 (4th in the conference) and her career total to 1660. The Medford, NY native also accumulated a season-best 21 digs.

Leading all players in digs was Senecal, who matched a career-best with 26.

The Golden Eagles await their playoff fate, which will be sorted tomorrow, but they are guaranteed to play in a Skyline Conference first round match on Tuesday, November 1. Live stats for the contest will be available here.