(Bronxville, NY) - 30 points away from one of the most stunning upsets of the 2006 season, the six members of the Mount Saint Vincent Women's Volleyball team who have started nearly every match this season made the decision that what has been an outstanding 2006 campaign would not have a blemish like a loss to a team the Dolphins have never lost to, and what was once moments from a spectacular loss turned into one of the team's finest hours. Down 2-1 to a Sarah Lawrence team that has proven to be one of the most improved programs in the recent history of the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) and with all of the momentum favoring the host Gryphons in front of a raucous crowd, Mount Saint Vincent turned in two of its finest individual games of the 2006 season, and rallied to defeat Sarah Lawrence, 3-2. With the win, Mount Saint Vincent improves to 14-10 for the 2006 season and have wrapped up the #2 seed in next week's HVWAC playoffs by improving to 7-1 in Conference play.
Sarah Lawrence (11-3, 6-2 HVWAC) was all business from the start, taking advantage of a spectacular service night and storming to a 30-20 win in the opening game in which Mount Saint Vincent struggled mightily. However, the Dolphins rallied for a 30-26 win in game two that despite continued difficulty handling the Sarah Lawrence service game, seemed to right the Mount's efforts. However, Sarah Lawrence would not go down without a fight, and steamrolled their way to a 30-21 win in game three that gave the Gryphons a 2-1 lead.
That's when Mount Saint Vincent set off one of their most amazing rallies of the 2006 season, winning the fourth game, 30-11 and the fifth and deciding game 15-4 to secure the win. Despite the poor start, the Mount overcame a big deficit and hostile crowd to perhaps finish a match stronger than they have all season long, and maybe even gain a measure of momentum as next week's post-season approaches.
As they have done all season long, junior Edeana Martinez (Bronx, NY/St. Catherine) and Michelle Dedvukaj (Bronx, NY/St. Catherine) willed the Mount back in this match. The duo combined for 30 of Mount Saint Vincent's 49 kills, and Dedvukaj added 13 kills for her fifth double-double of 2006. But they weren't the only two involved in the win. Mount Saint Vincent combined for a season-high 85 digs, and their 14 service aces were a huge reason for the victory. Freshman Bridget Leonard (Poughkeepsie, NY/Lourdes) was spectacular, registering 18 assists and 13 digs to go with seven service aces. Five of her aces came during the final two games. Leonard, Dedvukaj, and senior Jessica Thorn (Farmingdale, NJ/Colt's Neck HS) all registered double-doubles as Thorn added 16 assists and 10 digs, marking the first time in at least three years that the Dolphins have had three double-doubles in the same match.
Also having a huge night for the Mount was senior Roxanne Predergast (Center Moriches, NY/Westhampton Beach HS), who chipped in eight kills and 22 digs, several of which involved her diving for the floor to keep a loose ball alive.
Coming off of one of its biggest wins of the season, Mount Saint Vincent has little time to rest. The Dolphins host the Pratt Institute for their regular season finale on Friday at 8:00 p.m.
