Purchase, NY
(Oct. 20, 2010) – The Purchase College women's volleyball team saluted three of its best Wednesday night by honoring them on Senior Night with a 3-1 victory over rival Bard.
Prior to the key conference matchup, Sports Information Director Bobby Ciafardini hosted a special Senior Night ceremony recognizing the tremendous contributions of seniors
Michelle Fetky (SR/Lk. Ronkonkoma, NY),
Laura Dykas (SR/Wethersfield, CT) and Erica Stahl (SR/Mahopac, NY).
Stahl, who transferred in last fall, made an immediate impact on the lineup. The outside and middle hitter shined the past two seasons.
Along with her teammates, she was honored at midcourt with a gift from head coach Nelson Kwok and a certificate from the SID department, along with a dozen roses and a framed photo of herself from her playing days at Purchase. All three seniors will also receive awards during the annual awards dinner in May.
Teammate
Taylor Edelmann (SO/Bethel, CT) spoke glowing about Stahl before the focus shifted to another amazing teammate and consummate professional in
Laura Dykas. Dykas, whose play has gotten better each of the past few seasons, finishes her Panther career as one of the top libero in the conference. Setter
Mickaela Olson (JR/Glen Cove, NY) provided a touching ode to Dykas.
Fetky, who bounced back from a career threatening torn ACL, caps her Purchase career with several accolades, including a pair of Rookie of the Week honors her freshman year and another Honor Roll mention this fall – solidifying her comeback attempt. Teammate
Olivia Hintz (JR/East Aurora, NY) shared a humorous speech about Fetky, who fondly goes by the nickname "Meesh."
With the pre-match ceremony setting the tone for the rest of the evening, Purchase came out strong and won the first set.
Erica Stahl flanked by parents Ray (l.) and Marie.
Laura Dykas and parents Allison (r.) and Jim were all smiles Wednesday night.
Purchase took the opener 25-22 and the second set by the same score before falling 25-18 in the third. The Panthers duplicated their narrow wins in the first and second in the fourth set by taking the match in another 25-22 win.
The seniors shined on Senior Night. Stahl had six kills, three digs, four assists and two service aces; Fetky totaled eight kills, three service aces and two digs; and Dykas finished with four kills and a team-leading nine digs in the victory.
Purchase was paced by
Rebecca Dittler (JR/Elmira Heights, NY), who continues to improve each week. She had a match-high 14 kills, adding five digs and four solo blocks to her credit. Hintz added seven kills as the Panthers hit .284 as a team.
Meanwhile, Olson did a nice job distributing. She handed out 16 assists for the Panthers.
The entire roster played Wednesday night, with
Megan Cohen (SO/Milford, CT),
Regina Lynch (FR/Williston Park, NY),
Lindsay Navagh (FR/Fulton, NY),
Rachael Popovic (JR/Baldwin, NY) and
Cathryn Mulvey (FR/Scarsdale, NY) doing a nice job in closing out the match.
Purchase (708, 3-3 Skyline) hosts a quad-match Saturday before closing the regular season league schedule against Old Westbury on the road next Wednesday.
