NEW ROCHELLE, NY — For the second straight season and fourth time in the last six, The College of New Rochelle volleyball team has been crowned Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champions following a thrilling five-set victory over Pratt Institute this afternoon at the Wellness Center. Senior co-captain Meghan King (New City, NY/Clarkstown North) was selected as Tournament MVP for the second consecutive season.
The Blue Angels (25-7) increased their school record number of wins and handed Pratt two of its four losses this season. They also held Cannoneer offensive leader Alice Vicente to her lowest hitting percentage of the season at .085.
Against second-seeded Pratt (15-4), King tallied 10 of the 25 kills she recorded on the day. Fabiola Padilla Rios (San Juan, PR/University Garden) added a team-high 16 kills, adding 20 digs, while Melanie Lopez Soto (Gurabo, PR/Notre Dame) nearly tallied a triple-double, tallying eight kills, 15 assists and 14 digs. Tiany Perez Diaz (Junco, PR/Notre Dame) dug up a match-high 25 balls.
The championship match started with the teams trading points to leave the score knotted at 5-5. Pratt then took the lead and led by as many as four, 15-11, and led, 17-14 before CNR took control of the set and used a 11-1 run to take the first set, 25-18.
The Cannonneers evened the match at a set apiece taking the second set, 25-18. After the Blue Angels used a 6-0 run to turn a 17-12 deficit into a 18-17 lead, Pratt responded with an 8-0 run of their own to pull even and end CNR run of 19 straight set wins against HVIAC competition this season.
The Blue Angels recovered in the third set, scoring seven of the final eight points of the set to earn a 25-17 win and a 2-1 lead.
Pratt responded with a strong set of its own, racing out to a 14-4 lead en route to a 25-20 win, forcing the fifth and deciding set, somewhere CNR had only been once before this season.
Eight of the first 11 points were scored in favor of the Blue Angels in the fifth set, but the Cannoneers rallied to pull within a single point, 10-9, before CNR displayed its championship pedigree, scoring five of the last seven points to clinch the championship.
In the semifinal win over St. Joseph’s College-Brooklyn (8-12) , King slammed home match-high 15 kills. Padilla Rios added 11 kills. Lopez Soto produced another all-around game, handing out 16 assists and 11 digs to go along with a match-high six aces.
The CNR defense held St. Joseph’s best offensive player, Lauren GaNun to just five kills and a -.029 hitting percentage. The Lady Bears hit -.039 for the match.
The Blue Angels took the first set with a decisive run, journeying on a 16-5 run to push a 9-5 lead into a 25-10 victory in the opening set. The second set saw the Lady Bears hold an 11-7 advantage, but CNR closed out the set with an 18-3 run to take a 2-0 set lead by virtue of a 25-14 win. In the third set, CNR used a 16-3 run to turn a 9-9 tie into a 25-12 win, clinching the Blue Angels’ spot in the finals.
CNR now awaits to hear if it will earn its first ECAC Metro/Upstate Tournament bid.