NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — Directed by Tournament Most Valuable Player Melanie Lopez Soto (Gurabo, Puerto Rico), The College of New Rochelle completed an unblemished season in conference play defeating the Culinary Institute of America in straight sets to claim the 2015 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's volleyball championship on Sunday afternoon at the CNR Wellness Center.
Lopez Soto dished out a tournament-best 58 assists and led the Blue Angels attack to a combined .272 hitting while also landing 10 aces and aiding the defense with 14 digs.
The top-seeded Blue Angels (18-9, 4-0 HVIAC) earned a spot in the title game rolling past No. 4 seed King's (4-6, 1-3 HVIAC). The Lady Lions challenged the now three-time champions in the opening set, but couldn't keep pace with New Rochelle's .310 hitting and 37 kills in the 25-20, 25-10, 25-11 semifinal win.
After taking the opening two sets, No. 2 seed Culinary (9-6, 3-1 HVIAC) needed four sets to bypass No. 3 seed Pratt (7-14, 2-2 HVIAC) in the second semifinal, 25-12, 26-24, 16-25, 25-19. Culinary was paced by a trio of double-doubles from Emily Brown (Clarence, N.Y.), Alexis Brown (Three Rivers, Mich.) and Megan Read (Gainsville, Fla.) to earn a spot in their first title game since 2012.
The championship game was controlled largely by the host Blue Angels who trailed only once the entire contest in the 25-15, 25-15, 25-17 victory. New Rochelle rode a 15-kill effort from Fabiola Padilla Rios (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and 11 kills from Tamara Beckford (Bronx, N.Y.) with Lopez Soto guiding the duo to a combined .417 hitting.
Alexandra Loewy (Syracuse, N.Y.) paced the Steels in defeat with seven kills and 13 digs and Alexis Brown handed out 17 assists with three aces.
2015 HVIAC Women's Volleyball Championships
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2015
Site: The College of New Rochelle
Semifinals
#1 New Rochelle def. #4 King's, 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-11) | Box Score
#2 Culinary def. #3 Pratt, 3-1 (25-12, 26-24, 16-25, 25-19) | Box Score
Championship
#1 New Rochelle def. #2 Culinary, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-17) | Box Score
Tournament MVP
Melanie Ann Lopez Soto | New Rochelle | Jr. | Setter | Gurabo, Puerto Rico
Regular Season & Tournament Champions
The College of New Rochelle
Tournament Runner-Up
The Culinary Institute of America
