Written by Andrew Capitelli (SJC-LI Sports Information)

Patchogue, NY| The #4 St. Joseph's College (L.I.) women's volleyball team defeated #5 Farmingdale State in the first round of the Skyline Conference playoffs on Tuesday inside Danzi Center and will advance to play the top-seeded College of Mount Saint Vincent in the semifinals on Thursday. The win sees the Golden Eagles improve to 17-15 on the year, while the Rams finish the season with a 13-14 record.

A tight first set saw the two sides knotted up at 12 before the Golden Eagles rallied for the next four points to pull ahead 16-12. Later, up 21-19, St. Joseph's allowed the Rams to collect five of the next six points to take a 24-22 lead, but a kill by Claire Urizzo kept the hosts alive and jumpstarted a 4-0 run to win the set 26-24.

Up 8-7 in the second, the Golden Eagles grabbed 10 of the next 11 points to distance themselves from their opponents. With a 20-13 lead later in the set, SJC used a Heather Ferchland kill to open a 5-0 run and claim the set 25-13.

In the third, the teams found themselves tied on four separate occasions, including at 18-18. A 4-0 run put the Golden Eagles ahead 22-18, and later back-to-back kills from Ferchland and AnneMarie Taggart gave St. Joseph's the 25-20 set win and a 3-0 match victory.

Ferchland's 11 kills were a game-high, as were Courtney Wickline's 29 assists and Jenna Beekman's 16 digs. Urizzo went for eight kills and eight digs, and Taggart collected five kills.

The Golden Eagles' semifinal match on Thursday will be played on the campus of Mount Saint Vincent. The time of the match is yet to be determined. St. Joseph's defeated the Dolphins 3-2 in the two teams' only matchup of the season on Saturday, October 3.