Nov 12, 2005
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. - Tournament MVP and three-time conference Player of the Year Michelle Muniz (Guaynabo, P.R.) put down 21 kills and made 30 digs to power Bryant University to a come-from-behind 3-2 win over regular season champion and top-seeded Bentley in the championship match of the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference women's volleyball playoffs Saturday night at Pace University.
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Bryant, with the 24-30, 30-22, 23-30, 30-25, 15-12 victory, improved to 26-9 overall and earned the NE-10's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional. Bentley, which had edged Bryant in five during the regular season, dropped to 27-7 and saw its winning streak halted at seven.
After taking a 2-1 lead, it appeared the Falcons were on their way to their third conference playoff title in five years when they went up 22-16 in the fourth game. However, the Bulldogs battled back, scoring 14 of the next 17 points to force a decisive fifth game.
The Falcons ran off five in a row to take a 5-1 lead in the fifth game and had a 7-4 advantage after a kill from sophomore Christina Sadowski (Salem, N.H./Salem HS). Bryant came alive, scoring the next five to take a two-point advantage, 9-7.
A point away from tying the game, Bentley instead fell behind 14-12 on a bad serve, and Muniz finished the match with her 21st kill of the night.
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For Bryant, Jessica Cegarra (Danville, NH) finished with 16 kills and a team-high five blocks while Tiffany Garry (Frankfort, IL) had 53 assists, 12 digs and three aces. Maureen Atkins (Fenton, MO) had 18 digs in the win.
For Bentley, Amber Gracey (Saline, MI) finished with 17 kills and 13 digs. Susan Harrahy (Nashua, NH) totaled 14 kills and eight digs. Christina Sadowski (Salem, NH) finished with 13 kills, six digs and eight blocks. Kate Markstein (La Jolla, CA) finished with 19 digs and two aces en route to being named to the all-tournament team.
