New York, NY – The women's volleyball team outlasted the Baruch Bearcats in five sets earlier this evening to claim steak to first place in the CUNYAC standings. Hunter won by scores of 19-25, 25-21, 25-17, 15-25, 15-8 and remained undefeated in conference action.
 
The Hawks (10-13, 6-0 CUNYAC) were powered by a trio of hitters with at least 14 kills each. Mariam Ouattara led the way with a team high 15 kills while teammates Kylie Hurst and Kendra Moore chipped in with 14 apiece. Justine Smith posted a game high 49 assists while Sunghee Cho led the way on defense with 26 digs. Isabelle Lawrence and Ouattara combined for six blocks up front.
 
Despite taking an 8-3 lead in the first set, the hosts turned the tables and went on an 11-1 run before an Ouattara kill stopped the bleeding at 20-16 in favor of Baruch. However, the Bearcats secured the final score making it a 1-0 affair. Hunter bounced back and took the next two sets to go up 2-1.
 
In the fourth set, the Purple and Gold found themselves down 12-2 in the early stages but allowed a 7-1 run which put them in a hole too deep to recover from, falling to force a fifth and final set. There, Alyssa Broccoli's squad was in the driver's seat the whole way. Kills from Moore, Smith, and Hurst helped Hunter take a quick 4-1 lead. It was the same trio. It was the same three that hammered home the final three points to put the exclamation point on the five set win.
 
Up next, the women's volleyball team will host Stevens University on Thursday, October 24 at 6pm at the Sportsplex. The Hawks will honor their two seniors, Hurst and Summer Magilochetti, prior to first serve