Bos Score - Finals
Box Score - Semifinal

New York, NY - On Friday night, November 5, the Hawks hosted the 2010 CUNYAC/ EmblemHealth Women's Volleyball semifinal rounds and the championship. Hunter rolled through each to by ways of 3-0 and 3-1 wins and claimed the program's 20th conference championship in 29 years, beating Lehman College first and then Baruch.

In the semifinal against Lehman,  the Hawks grabbed the first set, 25-18, backed by a collective 15 kills compared to the Lightning's 10. Mallory Grubler powered her team through the next two sets, 25-14 and 25-8 with 19 kills on on the match to advance to the finals where they took on #2 Baruch.

In the final match, the conference rivals took the court to battle for CUNYAC supremacy. With fans from both sides showing their support, the first game got underway with the Hawks getting the first point on a Rebecca Peralta attack error. As the game progressed, the Bearcats took the lead and never relinquished it as they pulled away and outscored the Hawks 9-3 in the final points to take the first game.

 "We came out nervous tonight, their crowd was more vocal than ours in the first game," said head coach Ray Bello. "We went with a bigger lineup to try to counter their middles, which is their biggest strength."

The Hawks went back to their traditional lineup for the second game and it worked as they opened up with a 4-0 lead but Baruch responded quickly and tied the game at seven. Behind the strength of Christine Luebcke, the Hawks went on a 12-4 run to reach the 25 point mark and even out the playing field at one game a piece.

With momentum on their side, Hunter headed into the third set and jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and never looked back. They took the third set 25-15 and headed into the fourth and final set. Both sides battled back and forth with neither team letting the other get more than a three point lead. However, at the 19-18 point with Hunter having the upper hand, the Hawks put in a final surge and claimed the championship, ending with seven unaswered points.

In the win, Luebcke  recorded a game high 25 kills and was named the Tournament MVP. Grubler posted 12 kills while setter Katina Boutis tallied 43 assists and were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Hawks earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the regional brackets to be announced later today. Be sure to check www.huntercollegeathletics.com for tournament information.