New Rochelle Outlasts Pratt to Win Second Straight Women's Volleyball Title

New Rochelle Outlasts Pratt to Win Second Straight Women's Volleyball Title

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.—The 2014 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's volleyball championship game saw the top two seeds battle in a tightly-contested matchup, but it was top seed The College of New Rochelle who prevailed over Pratt Institute in five sets at the CNR Wellness Center on Sunday.

New Rochelle (25-7) captured their second straight title ending the season on a six-game winning streak, led by Megan King (New City, N.Y.) who took home Tournament MVP honors for the second straight year—totaling 25 kills with a .281 hitting percentage for the tournament—as the Blue Angels advanced to the final with a straight-set semifinal win over St. Joseph's in a rematch of last year's title game.

Pratt (15-4) reached their first title game since 2009 behind a 10-kill, 11-ace, 23-dig triple-double from HVIAC Player of the Year Alice Vicente (Lisbon, Portugal) in the Cannoneers straight-set win over King's, who made their first tournament appearance guided by HVIAC Coach of the Year Tiffany Firebaugh.

The championship finale entertained the crowd with a high level of volleyball and back-and-forth action that saw the Blue Angels take the first and third sets and the Cannoneers countering taking the second and fourth sets to force a fifth-and-deciding set for the title.

In the final set, New Rochelle saw HVIAC Rookie of the Year Fabiola Padilla Rios (San Juan, Puerto Rico) put away back-to-back kills—two of her set-high five kills—giving the Blue Angels an early 6-2 lead and the Cannoneers could never close the gap, coming as close as 10-9, before the regular season champions won five of the final seven points for the title.

Fabiola Rios and King led a balanced CNR attack with 16 and 10 kills, respectively, the freshman also adding 20 digs for a double-double. Three Blue Angels turned in double-doubles with Melanie Lopez Soto (Gurabo, Puerto Rico) posting eight kills, 15 assists and 14 digs and Indigo Flowers (Castro Valley, Calif.) turning in a 17-assist, 10-dig effort.

Vicente led Pratt in defeat falling one ace shy of a second triple-double with a match-high 18 kills, 21 digs and nine aces. Diana Lezama (Bethesda, Md.) added a 12-kill, 15-dig double-double.

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2014 HVIAC Women's Volleyball Championships

Date: Sunday, October 26, 2014
Site: The College of New Rochelle 

Semifinals

#1 New Rochelle def. #4 St. Joseph's, 3-0 (25-10, 25-14, 25-12) | Box Score
#2 Pratt def. #3 King's, 3-0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-12) | Box Score

Championship

#1 New Rochelle def. #2 Pratt, 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-17, 20-25, 15-11) | Box Score

Tournament MVP

Meghan King, New Rochelle - Sr., Outside Hitter, New City, N.Y. 

Regular Season & Tournament Champions

The College of New Rochelle

Tournament Runner-Up

Pratt Institute