BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, New York (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team overcame an early deficit and used a strong serving performance to sweep SUNY Old Westbury, 25–20, 25–19, 25–20, on Sunday afternoon at The Hill Center.
The Panthers jumped out to a 6–1 advantage in the opening set and later extended their lead to 13–6. The Bears gradually chipped away before putting together a nine-point run behind Carissa Zwiefelhofer's (North Bend, Wash.) serving, turning a 19–14 deficit into a 23–19 lead. Keren Crespo (Meriden, Conn.) added a late kill before Karson Brooks (Portland, Ore.) sealed the 25–20 comeback victory with a service ace.
The second set remained competitive, with the teams tied at eight before the Bears built a 15–11 advantage. Old Westbury narrowed the gap to 15–14, but SJBK maintained their lead and pulled away behind four consecutive service aces from Zwiefelhofer. Brooks delivered the set-clinching kill to give the Bears a 25–19 win.
Neither side established much separation early in the third, with the teams tied at 12 before the Bears scored four straight points to take a 16–12 lead. The Panthers rallied to within 18–17, but St. Joseph's responded with another late push, highlighted by a Juliette DiVittorio (Astoria, N.Y.) ace and kills from Crespo and Michelle Piotrowski (Ridgewood, N.Y.), to close out the sweep, 25–20.
Brooks led the attack with nine kills on a .438 hitting percentage, adding seven digs and two service aces. Piotrowski contributed seven kills while hitting .357, along with seven digs. Zwiefelhofer finished with 20 assists, six aces and nine digs, while Jimenez recorded four kills without an error on 10 attempts for a .400 hitting percentage. The Bears totaled 14 service aces and hit .244 as a team.
The Bears travel to the City College of New York on Tuesday, October 20 at 7 pm to close non-conference play.
