Box Score Philadelphia, Pa. - (10/4/2014) – Junior captain Rachel Biro (Nazareth, Pa.) turned in one of the top performances of her career, going off for a career-best 23 kills to lead the Chestnut Hill College women's volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 25-8) Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) victory over visiting Felician College this afternoon. In the process, the Griffins extended their home winning streak to six matches and succeeded in surpassing their win total from each of the past two seasons (9).
 
Chestnut Hill College (10-8, 5-2), which has not lost inside Sorgenti Arena since the home opener on Tuesday, September 9, against West Chester University, kept pace with Wilmington (Del.) University and Holy Family University atop the CACC South Division standings by starting strong and finishing with a flourish. On a day when the Griffins honored Alexandra DePalma '14 (Shillington, Pa.), who in last year's season finale become the first player in program history to reach the 1,000-kill milestone, Biro followed in her former teammate's footsteps, recording kills on three of the first four points to spark the home side to a 25-17 result in the first set.
 
Chestnut Hill College captured the second set by the same score, 25-17, and held a 21-16 advantage in the third set before Felician College (5-6, 3-4) rallied, rattling off eight straight points and holding on for a 25-23 decision to extend the match – but not for long. Leading 8-7 in the fourth set, the Griffins turned on the jets, winning 17 of the next 18 points - including a match-clinching stretch of 10 straight on the serve of sophomore outside hitter Madison McBride (Long Beach, Calif.) – to put the Golden Falcons away, 25-8.  
 
Thanks in large part to Biro, who finished with a .309 (23K-6E-55TA) hitting percentage, the Griffins have now reached double-digit victories for the first time since 2011, when they went 13-9 overall (8-11 CACC) and made their first and only appearance in the CACC Championship Tournament. Biro, whose previous career mark was 16 kills (established three times), finished with 25.5 points, adding five block assists to her 23 kills. She currently ranks second in the conference in kills (213) and kills-per-set (3.61 k/s).
 
Freshman Sally Taylor (San Diego, Calif.) led the Golden Falcon effort with 10 kills and 20 digs. Junior Susie McKeever (North Fort Myers, Fla.) posted 23 assists to go with seven digs, while junior Sarah Shebel (Chandler, Ariz.) contributed 22 digs.

McBride turned in a versatile effort for the Griffins, recording a double-double with 10 kills and a career-high-tying 19 digs. Fellow sophomore Emily Drew (Ringoes, N.J.) jumpstarted the attack, pairing a season-best 42 assists with 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season, while classmate Regina Trabosh (Norristown, Pa.) led the defense with 32 digs, a season high. Freshman middle hitter Samantha Gelfan (Chandler, Az.) posted seven kills and five blocks, and fellow rookie Melissa Shunk (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and senior captain Kaitlyn Schock (Allentown, Pa.) notched six kills apiece. Junior Meghan Chiovitti (Brighton, Colo.) offered 10 digs and three aces from the backline.
 
The Griffins continue their CACC slate on Wednesday, October 8, when they welcome Holy Family University to Sorgenti Arena for a 7:00 p.m. contest.