BROOKLYN, NY - It was a wild night on Thursday, as the #3 John Jay women's volleyball team traveled to ARC Arena to take on the #2 Brooklyn College Bulldogs in the CUNYAC Semifinals. In a five-set thriller, the Bloodhounds were on the verge of an upset before the Bulldogs clawed back and fought to earn a difficult 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 14-25, 15-11) victory.
The Bloodhounds jumped out to a quick lead with a tone-setting victory in set one that let Brooklyn know that tonight was not going to be a cakewalk. After the two teams traded three points each early, a kill from sophomore
Paige Sadowitz sparked a mini 3-0 run that would give John Jay a lead in which they would battle to hold throughout the rest of the set. The lead grew to 20-13, but the Bulldogs rattled off a 6-0 run of their own and looked like they were going to come back and steal it. However, a service error halted Brooklyn's momentum and John Jay would score the next four points to regain control and sophomore
Johnelle Pierre would put the finishing touches on a fantastic first set with a monster kill up the middle.
The Bulldogs bounced back nicely and earned solid victories in sets two and three, and looked to be in prime position to put the game away in set four, but the best was still to come for the Bloodhounds. They flat out dominated the fourth set, setting the tone early with a kill from sophomore
Reilly Catan followed by back-to-back kills from sophomore
Faith Harer for a monstrous 3-0 run to take an early lead. That lead eventually reached 14-12, when Catan ignited another huge run, this time 6-0, after another monstrous kill. This time, the Bloodhounds kept their foot on the gas and a kill from sophomore
Rylea Sandel finished off a 25-14 win to tie the match at two wins apiece.
John Jay started the tie-breaking fifth set on a 3-0 run, capped by a kill up the middle from Pierre, but Brooklyn responded with a 4-0 run right away to take the lead. It was a back-and-forth affair, but the Bulldogs wound up closing things out with back-to-back kills to win 15-11 and advance to the CUNYAC Championship.
Harer had arguably the best game of her Bloodhound career in the biggest stage, double-doubling with 14 kills (one short of a career-high), along with a career-high matching 19 digs. Sophomore
Meghan Smith also double-doubled with 35 assists and 11 digs, while adding four service aces. Sophomore
Taylor Hunt also had 11 digs and four service aces. Catan chipped in nine kills and 11 digs, falling one kill shy of a double-double. Pierre had eight kills and three total blocks. Sandel and Sadowitz combined for 11 kills and five total blocks.
The Bloodhounds finish the season 14-14 (5-2 CUNYAC). Brooklyn improves to 17-12 on the season, and advances to face #1 Hunter tomorrow night in the CUNYAC Championship.
