BOX SCORE

New York, NY - The 2013 Hunter Hawks women's volleyball team won their season-opener against Ramapo College 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-18, 25-10) on Friday, August 30^th at the NYU Labor Day Invitational. Hunter's Stephanie Taibe led the Hawks with 13 kills and 17 digs, while Kristine Ciurcina recorded a game-high 33 assists in her Hawk debut.
 
Hunter dominated Ramapo with 42 team kills and seven team blocks. Ramapo had 33 errors compared to 21 by Hunter. Defensively, the Hawks collected 60 digs led by Alisa Jaganjac's 19 and Stephanie Taibe's 17. Taibe carried the offensive load with 13 kills, Samantha Barrett added eight kills, Taylor Kordich finished with seven kills, and Lucia Stosic pitched in with six.
 
In the opening set, Kristine Ciurcina paced the Hawks with seven assists and Lucia Stosic applied pressure defensively with two solo blocks and two assisted blocks. Ramapo recorded a low attack percentage of (-.114) with 11 errors. Hunter had nine total kills and went on to win the first set 25-22.
 
Ramapo tied the match with a 17-25 win in the second set. The Hawks committed seven errors while Ramapo improved with 13 kills and five errors. Stephanie Taibe had four kills in the second set while Samantha Barrett and Lucia Stosic each had two apiece for Hunter.
 
Hunter responded in the next set with a game-high 14 team kills to reclaim the lead. Taylor Kordich netted five kills and Stephanie Taibe had four as Hunter won 25-18. Setter Kristine Ciurcina had 11 assists and Camille Newkirk led defensively with five digs in the fourth set.
 
The Hawks wrapped up the match in the fourth set playing under control and as a unit. Hunter forced seven Ramapo errors and offensively recorded a (.231) attack percentage. Stephanie Taibe and Camille Newkirk both had three kills each, while Samantha Barrett and Lucia Stosic had two each. Taylor Kordich, Kristine Ciurcina, Lucia Stosic, and Camille Newkirk all landed a service ace in the final set for Hunter. Hunter dominated the fourth set 25-10, winning the match 3-1.
  
The Hawks returned five student-athletes from last season's and added eight newcomers, for first-year head coach Val Lang.  Coach Lang guided her team in their season-opener to victory. Hunter will play Simpson College at 3:00 pm in their next match of the NYU Labor Day Invitational.