Mid-Hudson Conference Tournament

On Thursday October 24th the SUNY Orange Colts hosted this year's Mid-Hudson Conference Tournament. The tournament consisted of the semi final round, folled by the final match.  In the semi final matches, the Colts took on the Hawks of Rockland Community College while the Falcons of Dutchess defeated the Vikings of Westchester.  Both semi final matches went five sets and provided some exciting volleyball.

In the semis against the Hawks, the SUNY Orange Colts found themselves with their backs against the wall, but were able to push through when it was needed most.  In going five sets, neither team seemed to gain an advantage over the other as four of the five sets ended in a 25-23 final score.  After losing the first two sets the Hawks managed to win the third set to avoid the sweep. In the 5th set, the Colts found themselves in a situation they did not want to be in, trailing 10-1. Thanks to a smart timeout by Coach Convery, the Colts managed to come back and ended up winning the fifth and final set 15-13 sending the Colts to the MHC finals.   The Colts would face Dutchess CC who was victorious in five sets against Westchester. 

In this semi final victory over the Hawks there were a few key contributors that helped earn the win. 

So, Middle Hitter Gabriella Dandrade led her team in Kills and Points finishing with 12 kills, 1 service ace, 5 digs, 2 blocks and 14.0 points.

Fr, Outside Hitter Lily Noteboom had an amazing game leading her team in total assists. Noteboom has recorded 20+ assists in five different games this season and this is the second game in a row reaching this mark. Noteboom finished with 4 kills, 24 assists, 4 service aces, 14 digs, 3 blocks and 9.5 points

So, Libero Alivia Torres was the main defensive threat on the court. Torres led the Colts in Digs, finishing with 28 total digs.  This is the fourth time this season that she has achieved 20+ digs. Torres all year has been on the receiving end of many serves that the Colts face, and this game against the Hawks was no different.  She saw 34 serves and had just 6 errors on the receiving end. Torres finished with 6 assists, 5 service aces, 28 digs, 34 receptions and 5.0 points. 

In the second match of the night the SUNY Orange Colts took on the Falcons of Dutchess Community College for the Mid-Hudson Conference Championship. After an exciting victory over the Hawks of Rockland, SUNY Orange had their sights set on becoming champions and had back to back set victories over the Falcons to give them the early 2-0 lead. In dominating fashion the Colts won sets one and two 25-18 and 25-16 before their streak was halted in set three.  The Colts defeated the Falcons in the fourth becoming the Mid-Hudson Conference Champions.

The Colts faced off against a familiar opponent in Dutchess Community College, and were able to get the best of them after splitting their regular season matches.  In their emphatic team victory, there were a few athletes who rose to the occasion and helped lead the Colts to victory.

So. Libero Alivia Torres had another fantastic game where she led the Colts in service aces, digs and points. Finishing off with 3 kills, 2 assists, 14 service aces (highest single game mark this season), a season high 29 digs and 17.0 points.

Fr. Outside Hitter Lily Noteboom finished her 4th consecutive game as the team leader in assists as she smashed her previous single game record by 10+ assists. Finishing off with 1 kill, 37 assists, 2 service aces, 7 digs, 2 blocks and 4.0 points

So. Emily Deserto finished the game as the team leader in Kills while also nothing a career and season high 14 kills. Deserto also added 1 assist, 1 service ace, 8 digs and had the second most points at 15.0 

The Colts will look to continue their success in the NJCAA Region XV Tournament where they will be the #6 seed and take on the Tigers of Queensborough.