BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's University, New York (Brooklyn) women's volleyball team secured its fourth consecutive victory and sixth in its last seven matches Tuesday evening, defeating sister campus St. Joseph's University, Long Island, 3–1, at The Hill Center. The Bears prevailed 25–17, 25–19, 10–25, 25–23 as part of the program's annual Dig Pink event.
The Golden Eagles opened the first set with a 5–3 advantage before the Bears responded with seven unanswered points, highlighted by four Karson Brooks (Portland, Ore.) kills and a Carissa Zwiefelhofer (North Bend, Wash.) service ace. The Golden Eagles later narrowed the deficit to 15–13, but the Bears pulled away with a six-point run behind Keren Crespo's (Meriden, Conn) serving. Brooks delivered the final two kills to secure the 25–17 victory.
The Bears overcame another early deficit in the second set, erasing a 5–1 disadvantage to take a 7–6 lead. Brooklyn eventually built an 18–13 advantage before Long Island rallied to tie the set at 18. However, the Bears answered with five straight points, including consecutive Zwiefelhofer aces, before Brooks sealed the 25–19 win with an ace of her own.
The visitors responded in the third set, using several early scoring runs to build a 12–5 advantage. The Golden Eagles maintained control throughout the frame, extending their lead to 21–8 before taking the set, 25–10.
The fourth set remained tightly contested, with SJBK building a 15–12 lead before SJLI rallied to move ahead 20–18. The Bears fought back, tying the score at 22 on an Amelia Jimenez (Middle Village, N.Y.) ace before Crespo put SJBK ahead with a kill. After the Golden Eagles leveled the set at 23, consecutive kills from Madeleine Niño (San Antonio, Texas) and Crespo secured the 25–23 victory and the Bears' fourth consecutive win.
Brooks and Zwiefelhofer led SJBK with 13 kills apiece. Brooks added four service aces and eight digs, while Zwiefelhofer finished with 16 assists, three aces and eight digs. Crespo contributed six kills, four aces, eight digs and two solo blocks, while Darya Goryachev (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded five kills and four total blocks.
Niño added five kills without an error on 13 attempts for a .385 hitting percentage, while Abigail Medina (Middle Village, N.Y.) distributed 20 assists. Juliette DiVittorio (Astoria, N.Y.) led the defensive effort with 13 digs as the Bears finished with 44 kills, 62 digs and 15 service aces.
The Bears travel to Bronxville on Thursday, October 29, to face Sarah Lawrence College at 6 p.m.
