New York, NY - The John Jay women's volleyball returned to the depths of the Hunter College Sportsplex on Friday night for the Bloodhounds' first appearance in the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Championship final since 2018 and third in program history. Just 24 hours removed from knocking off the two-seed Baruch on the road, the first program win at the Baruch ARC since 1996, the three-seed Bloodhounds faced a rematch of their conference regular season finale against the top-seed Hunter Hawks.
John Jay looked to build momentum from its first five-set tangle with the Hawks since 1996 during the regular season and looked prime to force another five setter against the defending champions, but the Hawks closed out in the fourth set for their second straight CUNYAC title.
The Bloodhounds remain the only team to take a set from the Hawks in the conference tournament during their current run.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Set One (Hunter, 25-10): The Hawks took full advantage of their friendly confines in the opening set, taking the first six points. CUNYAC First Team All-Star Faith Harer opened the account for the John Jay attack, her first of 11 on the night. CUNYAC Player of the Year Josanne Lewis and Rookie of the Year Hailey Waugaman scored on back to back points to cut the deficit to 5-9, but the Hawks attack was strong in the opener and soon put the set out of reach.
- Set Two (Hunter 25-15): Lewis kick started the Bloodhounds attack in the opening points of the second set, capping off a three-point run to cut the Hunter lead to 6-5. Paige Sadowitz looked to contribute from the middle position, getting John Jay into the double digits with one of her three kills on the night and Lewis added a pair to draw within five late in the set. The Hawks scored the final six points of the set to go up two sets.
- Set Three (John Jay 25-17): The Bloodhounds took the floor with their backs up against the wall in the third set, looking to extend their first trip to the title game in five years. The visitors seized on a refreshed Hawks lineup with one of their best sequences of the match. After dropping the first point, Faith Harer and Kristin Gretener served an 8-2 run - each with an ace. John Jay benefited from 12 total Hunter errors, nine of which were on the attack. Despite Hunter reintroducing its featured players late in the set, the Bloodhounds had amassed a ten-point lead, hitting a match-best .216. Harer swung for the key final points of the set and successfully scored a 25-17 win in the third and the match continued.
- Set Four (Hunter 25-20): John Jay found its rhythm again with a set win under its collective belt. Harer scored three of four points in the opening to tie the fourth set at 5-all. The Bloodhounds again benefited from early errors by the Hawks and inked a lead in the second consecutive set and forced a Hunter timeout. Lewis came up again with one of her 13 kills in the match to put John Jay back in front, 13-12. The eventual tournament MVP, Hunter's Tionna Moss, earned the title down the stretch coming up with three crucial kills in the final points. Despite cutting the Hawks advantage to 22-19, Hunter clinched the fourth set and a second straight CUNYAC title.
- The Bloodhounds placed two on the all-tournament team: Faith Harer and Josanne Lewis. Lewis finished the match with 13 kills and 10 digs, while Harer contributed 11 kills and seven digs.
CUNYAC Women's Volleyball Championship All-Tournament Team
MVP: Tionna Moss, Hunter
Bethany Tomaneng, Hunter
Izabella Williams, Hunter
Josanne Lewis, John Jay
Faith Harer, John Jay
Sarah Chung, Baruch
Ashley Fung, Brooklyn
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