BROOKLYN -- Pratt earned a 25-17 opening set victory, but visiting St. Joseph's (BK) responded emphatically with wins of 25-16, 25-11 and 25-10 in the Bears 3-1 win over the Cannoneers in Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's volleyball play Thursday night at the Pratt ARC.
St. Joseph's (6-4, 2-0 HVIAC) Megan Moran (Syosset, NY/St. Dominic's) led all players with 14 kills and Lauren GaNun followed with 11 kills while dominating the defensive side of the nets with a match-high six blocks. Jennifer Moncino's six service aces and 18 digs marked match highs as St. Joe's improved to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in the HVIAC.
Pratt (4-7, 1-3 HVIAC) was led by freshman Hannah Calderwood's (Clinton, WA/South Whidbey) 11 kills, and junior Diana Lezama (Bethesda, MD/Hotchkiss) followed with eight kills and tied with Moncino for a match-high 18 digs. Sophomore Alli Houghton (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) turned in her third double-double of the season with 20 set assists and 12 digs as one of four Cannoneers with 10 or more digs, but 30 attack errors and a -.008 attack percentage doomed Pratt with third place on the line.
Back-to-back service aces from Houghton, who entered the night leading the league with 1.27 per set, put Pratt out in front 13-8 to open the first frame. A Calderwood kill upped the Cannoneeers lead to 18-10, and the freshman's service ace closed out Pratt's 25-17 win.
A kill from senior Melissa Au (Hillside, NJ/Union County Magnet) snapped a 7-7 tie in the second set, but it would mark Pratt's last lead of the night. An 8-1 run capped by Moncino and Moran kills put the Bears on top 15-9 as St. Joseph's held on for a 25-16 victory.
The final two sets belonged entirely to the visitors, as the Bears took control of the match with a .259 hitting percentage and held the Cannoneers to a -.115 mark in the third. Two Moran kills and three Pratt attack errors led to an 8-2 St. Joseph's run to open the set. A GaNun ace put the Bears up 17-6, and the visitors led by double figures the rest of the game in the team's 25-11 win.
Moran showed up early in Game 4, throwing down three kills in the Bears 6-0 run to open the set. GaNun added a pair of kills in a Bears 5-0 run that padded the lead to 18-5, and St. Joe's went on to an easy 25-10 win, as Pratt hit -.115 for the frame compared to the visitors' .294 attack.
Pratt returns to play on Monday, again at home in HVIAC action against Medgar Evers College.
