RIVERDALE, N.Y. — After trailing 2-0, the St. Joseph's University, New York (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team edged the University of Mount Saint Vincent in five sets on Thursday evening from the Peter Jay Sharp Center (23-25, 16-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-12).
The Dolphins claimed the opening set after a tightly contested frame that saw 13 ties. The Bears led 15–10 midway through behind multiple kills from Abigail Encinia (Sunnyvale, Texas) and Keren Crespo (Meriden, Conn.), but UMSV responded with a late push and capitalized on errors to prevail 25–23. The hosts carried that momentum into the second set, storming out to a 12–0 lead and never looking back in a 25–16 result.
St. Joseph's responded in the third set with its most efficient frame of the night, hitting .323 as a team. Encinia registered four kills in the set, while Crespo and Carissa Zwiefelhofer (North Bend, Wash.) added timely points to help the Bears build a 20–12 advantage before closing out a 25–16 win. The momentum continued in the fourth, where Crespo, along with Taylor Knight (San Ramon, Calif.), and Jillian McGinty (Glendale, N.Y.), and Madeleine Niño (San Antonio, Texas) contributed to the SJBK attack. A service ace from Zwiefelhofer and late points from Encinia sealed the 25–19 decision to force a decisive fifth.
The Bears closed the match strong, using a balanced attack with kills from Knight, Encinia, and Crespo. Leading 13–12, St. Joseph's secured the final two points on a Crespo kill and a block to clinch the 15–12 set and complete the comeback victory.
The rookie trio of Encinia, Zwiefelhofer, and Crespo all had double-doubles on the night. Encinia finished with a .324 hitting percentage on 14 kills and as many assists, along with five digs and four aces. Zwiefelhofer also totaled 14 kills while dishing out 10 assists and bringing up nine digs to flirt with her second triple-double of the season. Crespo rounded out the rookie trio with 12 kills and 10 digs for her first collegiate double-double.
Mariana Medrano (El Paso, Texas) topped the team with 15 digs while Rachel Meltsin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) contributed 13 assists and McGinty logging six kills.
Up Next
The Bears return to The Hill Center to host Manhattanville University on Saturday, October 11 at 1 pm.
