NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- Pratt Institute earned a trip to the HVIAC Championship, where it will face No. 1 seed host College of New Rochelle, after its 3-0 win over The King's (NY) College in semifinal action Sunday afternoon.
Alice Vicente (Lisbon, Portugal/Escola Artistica Arroio) posted a triple double with 10 kills, 11 service aces and 23 digs for her second triple-double of the season as Pratt improved to 15-3.
King's controlled the majority of the first set, with Hannah Calderwood (Clinton, WA/South Whidbey) keeping Pratt in the game in the early going. Kills from the sophomore trimmed the Lions lead to 8-6, 15-14 and 17-16. A pair of Vicente kills around a King's timeout, sparking a run in which Pratt scored eight of the game's final nine points in a 25-19 come-from-behind win.
A Lions attack error and Vicente kill forced a Tiffany Firebaugh timeout with Pratt holding its largest lead at 10-6 in Game 2. Back-to-back kills from Vicente and Charlotte Burch (Lawrence, KS/Bishop Seabury) upped the advantage to 12-8, and another Burch kill forced another Firebaugh timeout with Pratt on top 16-11. A pair of Vicente aces then capped a 5-0 run that saw Pratt take a 20-11 lead in its 25-13 second-set win.
A Vicente kill and Alli Houghton (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) set the tone for a Pratt rout in opening Game 3. Two Vicente aces and two Burch kills forced a King's timeout trailing 6-1. Another Houghton ace and a powerful Vicente kill saw Pratt double up on King's at 18-9, and a pair of Vicente aces wrapped up a 25-12 win, sending the Cannoneers to the HVIAC Championship.
As a team, Pratt hit .234, holding King's to a -.067 attack percentage. Vicente led all players with 10 kills, adding a .368 attack, and her 23 digs were a match best. Houghton handed out a match-high 30 assists, and Burch led all players with a .375 hitting percentage after totaling eight kills on 12 swings.
