BY DAMIEN OVALLE
On Halloween Day the Brooklyn College Women’s Volleyball team swept the York College Cardinals 3-0, taking a promising fourth place in the CUNYAC (City University of New York Athletic Conference) and heading into the conference championships with an 11-11 record.
Coming off a two-game winning streak, Brooklyn can hold its head high looking towards a potential championship which has been eluding them for years.
The problem that has plagued Brooklyn is their own mistakes which could cost them numerous points or even be the deciding factor for a game.
“One of our biggest problems is a slow start, but we’ve been able to avoid that for the past five games,” said Head Coach Joseph Agrest.
Going into the first set out of five. Brooklyn sought to take the first, inching closer toward a sweep. (The first to three wins, wins the match) Brooklyn opened with a serve from number 20 Katia Mercado, and what followed was a 5-0 run where the Bulldogs appeared as if they could not be stopped. York College’s number 11 Madison Plaza halted that surge, giving Brooklyn a vicious hit back in its territory which the team couldn’t give back.
After what seemed to be a promising back-and-forth between the two teams, Brooklyn went on a dominant 8-0 run which would be the deciding factor. Emma Steele (#5) seemed as if she would never get off her hot streak, helping Brooklyn to run away with the set. Brooklyn closed the first set 25-5.
“This game gave us a lot of opportunity to practice things on our own. When I was serving I focused more on spots, shorts, deeps, and my technique… This game helped us, ”said Steele.
In the second set Brooklyn stormed through the Cardinals 25-8. However, Aleah Rafat (#9) helped Brooklyn break through the Cardinals’ tough defense as they would not go down without a fight. Rafat led the match with seven kills (spikes), most of them in the second set. That same set Bulldogs started off on a 7-2 run which would come off of the hot hand of Rafat.
“(Brooklyn) is a whole different team and I’m glad that it’s being seen by everyone, not just the players.” Said Rafat.
The final set, where Brooklyn closed the game, was a similar story to that of the first two. Opening with 15 unanswered points, the Bulldogs continued to punish the Cardinals in what seemed to be a lopsided game. The remainder of the game was taken as a chance to start the younger players on the team, Coach Agrest starte Kela Duncan, Olivia Fan, and Shaniya Garcia who all are first-year members of the team.
With the final conference game over, Brooklyn set its eyes on Thursday, Nov 9th, when they will play in the quarterfinals of the CUNYAC championships.