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