JAMAICA, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, N.Y. – Brooklyn women's volleyball team earned a straight-set victory over York College (N.Y.), 25-14, 25-8, 25-6, on Thursday evening.
Led by seven service aces from Rachel Meltsin (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) and Taylor Knight (San Ramon, Calif./Dougherty Valley) and an additional six from Nikiya Philemon (Hamburg, N.J./Sussex County Technical), the Bears finished with 31 aces; three shy of matching the single-match program record.Â
How it Happened
A stretch of a combined four aces from Martina Urgo (Astoria, N.Y./St. John's Prep) and Jillian McGinty (Glendale, N.Y./Queens Metropolitan) saw the Bears leap to an early 8-1 lead. The Cardinals trimmed their deficit to 8-5 but the navy and gray regained full control, holding the hosts to a scoring run of no greater than three en route to a 25-14 win.
Strong starts also established the pace for the rest of the stanzas. Knight and Mariana Medrano (El Paso, Texas/Loretto Academy) both recorded four aces each; Knight delivered her four consecutively at the 13-5 point in the set, while Medrano had a sequence of three aces to finish the set with a St. Joseph's win, 25-8.
A 10-3 start to the third was enough for the Bears to claim the set, 25-6, and match, 3-0. All six of Philemon's aces came in the period while McGinty and Knight each had a pair.
For the Bears
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31 service aces is the most in a match since the Bears joined NCAA Division III. The current program record is 34, set in 2007.
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In addition to her seven aces, Meltsin had 22 assists and a trio of digs.
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Knight had a joint-match-high seven kills and a team-leading six digs.
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Urgo also finished with seven kills to go with three aces.
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Rookie Jenna Diaz (Middle Village, N.Y./Townsend Harris) logged five kills.
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The Bears concluded the match at a .321 attacking rate.
Up Next
The Bears open their home and Skyline Conference slate on Tuesday, September 10 against the University of Mount Saint Vincent. First serve is slated for 7pm.
