Eagles Slip Past Rams & Advance to Skyline Semi's

Patchogue, N.Y.—The Skyline Conference Tournament match featuring the #4 seeded St. Joseph's Golden Eagles (19-6) and the #5 Farmingdale State Rams (12-12) on Friday night almost seemed like déjà vu.  Almost.  This time however, the fifth set of the game came out in favor of the home team as the Lady Eagles took the dramatic 3-2 win and secured a spot in the Semifinal round of the Tournament for which they will be traveling to Newburgh, N.Y. to challenge Mt. St. Mary.

Much like the last conference match between the two teams, SJC came out on fire, conquering the first two sets easily and finishing with scores of 25-18, 25-17, respectively.

Recollections of the last match seemed to slowly creep into the minds of the Lady Eagles though whose timidity peaked in game three and gave way to a loss of momentum.  The Rams proceeded to filch the third and forth games after coming back from SJC's match point in the third set, just as they had a little over a week ago.

The St. Joseph's team refused to let history repeat itself however and, with clear minds and the support of an exceptionally enthusiastic crowd, the Lady Eagles captured the fifth set, and consequently the match, with a 15-10 victory.

The win gave witness to some great plays by the Golden Eagles whose unrelenting hustle and determination gave them the upper hand in the most crucial minutes of the contest.  Heather Ferchland (Selden, N.Y./ Centereach) finished with 13 kills while Julianne Tierney (Bethpage, N.Y./ Bethpage) amassed 36 assists.  Melissa Garibaldi (Seaford, N.Y./ Island Trees) had ten kills and grabbed nine digs; Tiffany Willms (Centereach, N.Y./ Centereach) came away with nine kills and nine digs. Tierney and Ashley Larrea (Islip, N.Y./ Patchogue-Medford) contributed with an impressive 16 digs each.

(Game story by Caitlynn Webber)