Release courtesy of Pratt Athletics
BROOKLYN -- Pratt locked up a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Confernece playoff berth with a third win in four matches, a 3-0 victory over Sarah Lawrence College Monday night in HVIAC women's volleyball play.
Freshman Hannah Calderwood (Clinton, WA/South Whidbey) led all players with seven service aces, nine kills and a season-high .818 hitting percentage, making zero errors on 11 attempts. For the freshman it was her second match in a week with an attack percentage over .700.
Junior Diana Lezama (Bethesda, MD/Hotchkiss) added six aces and seven kills with only three errors on 18 attempts as Pratt fired 19 aces as a team in clinching a winning HVIAC record at 4-3 in league play. Sophomore Alli Houghton (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) notched a double-double of 15 assists and a match-best 11 digs as the Cannoneers moved to within a game of .500 at 7-8 overall.
A Lezama ace upped Pratt's lead to 7-1 in the first set, which Pratt never trailed. Lezama's kill upped the lead to 18-10 and forced a Jillian Kalvik timeout, and the Cannoneers used a 13-3 run to take a 21-10 lead in its 25-13 win.
Another Lezama kill followed by a Calderwood ace put Pratt on top 19-10 in Game 2. ANicole Garcia (Bogota, Columbia/Damascus) kill helped fend off a Gryphons rally and upped the lead to 23-14 in the Cannoneers 25-14 victory.
In Game 3, a Calderwood kill snapped a 7-7 tie, and a 6-0 run featuring four Calderwood aces put Pratt on top for good at 14-8. Back-to-back Clarisse Taboy (Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia/George) aces brought Sarah Lawrence to within 23-19, but a Taboy service error and one of HVIAC aces leader Houghton's three aces iced the 25-20 win.
For the Gryphons (3-19, 1-4 HVIAC), Taboy led the way with five aces and 10 digs, and freshman setter Janet Tonyan (McHenry, IL/McHenry) dished out a match-best 16 assists.
Pratt returns to play on Thursday in non-conference play at John Jay and honors seniors Garcia, Melissa Au and Regnia Kagkou on Saturday against the College of Staten Island at 1:00 at the Pratt ARC.
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Release courtesy of Sarah Lawrence College Athletics
BROOKLYN, N.Y.—The Gryphons' postseason hopes were dashed, as Sarah Lawrence College women's volleyball was defeated by Pratt Institute, 3-0, in a Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at the Pratt Activities Resource Center on Monday. With the loss, the 2012 HVWAC Champion Gryphons were eliminated from potential qualification to the 2013 HVIAC tournament.
Pratt (7-8, 4-3 HVIAC) led wire-to-wire in the opening set, sprinting out to an 8-1 lead. Though Sarah Lawrence (3-19, 1-4 HVIAC) narrowed the gap to 8-7, the Cannoneers caught fire and cruised to a 25-13 set.
SLC led early in the second set, but the advantage was nixed by a 13-2 Pratt run, and the home team came away with a 25-14 set. The third set saw both teams take a lead as they dueled to an 8-8 stalemate. Pratt caught fire again, and though the Gryphons kept the damage under control, the Cannoneers clinched the sweep by a 25-20 margin.
Senior Jenai Richards (Kailua, Hawai'i/St. Andrew's Priory) and junior Kitty O'Sullivan (Los Angeles, Calif./Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy) led the Green and White with five kills apiece. Setter Janet Tonyan (McHenry, Ill./McHenry) notched 16 assists in the match, bringing her season total to 260. Rookie Clarisse Taboy (Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia/George School) set a season-high with a team-leading 10 digs, while O'Sullivan defended nine attacks.
Pratt's Hannah Calderwood recorded a match-high nine kills, while setter Alli Houghton had a double-double with 15 assists and 11 digs.
With the win, Pratt clinched the final available spot among the four teams that will qualify for the 2013 HVIAC Women's Volleyball Championship. The Cannoneers join St. Joseph's College Brooklyn, College of New Rochelle and Culinary Institute of America to round out the tournament field.
In the team's final home match of the season, Sarah Lawrence hosts Yeshiva University in a HVIAC contest at Campbell Sports Center on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
