New York, NY – Junior outside hitter/setter Amanda Kamm (Dix Hills, NY/Hills West) notched a triple-double with a match-high 16 kills, 23 assists and 13 digs Thursday night, garnering CUNYAC Women's Volleyball Championship Most Valuable Player honors for the second straight season, as the top-seeded Hawks defeated the second-seeded CCNY 3-1 (30-22, 21-30, 30-27, 30-21) to win their second straight and the program's 18th conference championship at the ARC Arena on the campus of Baruch College in New York, NY.

"We have faced tough competition all year long, and this is what we have prepared for," said first-year women's coach Ray Bello, whose team finished the regular season with a perfect 9-0 conference record. In each of the Hawks 18 conference titles, they also won the regular season championship with an undefeated record.

Senior middle blocker Shanita Scott (Pelham, NY/Pelham Memorial) joined Kamm on the all-tournament team after recording 15 kills, 18 digs and four aces in two matches for the Hawks.

Semifinal: Hunter 3, Staten Island 0 (30-8, 30-9, 30-8)
Box Score

The Hawks (22-11) cruised into the final match on the efforts of junior outside hitter Karolina Kugoc (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht) who led the way with seven kills and six aces en route to a 3-0 victory. Senior middle blocker Yasmine Daniels (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) added a game high eight kills and four blocks, while senior outside hitter Safiya Solomon (Mount Vernon, NY/Pelham Memorial) had a tournament high 11 aces. As a team, the Hawks hit .385 against the Dolphins (12-12), and served up 29 aces.
Junior outside hitter Maylin Mejia (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) and freshman outside hitter Joanne Tepedino (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph's by the Sea) each had three kills to lead Staten Island.

Championship Match: Hunter 3, CCNY 1 (30-22, 21-30, 30-27, 30-21)
Box Score

The Hawks spotted CCNY early leads of 8-2 and 15-8 in the first game, before going on a 10-2 run to take an 18-17 advantage. The Beavers knotted the score on a Hunter service error one point later, before Kamm put down a kill to start a run of six straight points by the top seed to give them the lead for good.
CCNY held a 16-7 edge in the second game after five service points from junior outside hitter Taisiya Zuyeva (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood), before a later 5-1 mini-run by the second seed pushed the advantage to 25-12. After the Beavers got to game point (29-15), Hunter got a pair of kills from Kamm and six straight service points by Kugoc. However, a kill from sophomore outside hitter Floriana Garo (New York, NY/Red River) ended the Hawk comeback to even the match at one game apiece.

The Beavers held the lead for most of game three, including a seven-point advantage as late as 23-16. A 9-2 run by Hunter evened the game at 25, led by the strong serving of Scott, would also hand out the game winning kill on one of Kamm's 23 assists to give Hunter a 2-1 edge in the match.
Rounding out the match was an exciting game four in which there were eight ties and three lead changes. As was customary on the night, CCNY raced out to an early advantage at 8-2; however, the Hawks responded with 7-1 spurt to knot the game at 9-all. The teams swapped points on each of the next four serves, and remained neck and neck until Kamm's kill finally gave Hunter a 20-19 lead and started a match-ending 11-2 run.

"We absolutely knew what we were up against with CCNY," said Kamm. "We got off to slow starts in all four games tonight, but I think that shows how much of a team we really are that we were down and able to come back and win three games."

The Hawks will now focus their attention towards this Sunday, November 4, when the NCAA announces the seeding and locations for this year's regional tournaments. “We still have another season to go, commented Bello. Our focus this coming week will be on the NCAA's."

Program Notes:
Last season, the Hawks set a conference record for most championships by one team in any sport, this year they extend that record to 18. The women's volleyball program also holds the record for most consecutive championships won, earning nine in a row from 1985-1993 winning eight of those under the tutelage of current Director of Athletics Terry Wansart.