WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL OPENS GNAC PLAY WITH 3-0 WIN OVER MOUNT IDA

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's volleyball team opened up Great Northeast Athletic Conference action with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-22) victory over Mount Ida College Wednesday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center. With the win, the Saints snap a six-match losing skid and improve to 3-9 overall on the year and 1-0 in GNAC action while the loss drops the Mustangs to 5-10 and 0-2 in the GNAC.

Mount Ida opened the scoring in the first set with a kill by senior setter Taylor Davis (Machiasport, Maine) to take a 1-0 lead but it was short-lived as Emmanuel rattled off three quick points capped by a kill from senior outside hitter Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) to go ahead 3-1. After that, the Saints never trailed en route to a 25-15 win, hitting .267 as a team while holding the Mustangs to a negative -.030 hitting clip.

The second set was controlled by EC as the hosts jumped out to a 7-1 lead following a kill by freshman right side Katharine Journeay (Hampton, N.H.). Behind the service game of junior Sarah Schemerhorn (Los Angeles, Calif.), the Saints raced ahead to a 13-2 cushion before Mount Ida stopped the service run. Trailing 17-5, the Mustangs made some noise with a 6-0 run to cut the score to 17-11 with freshman outside hitter Kristy Walton (Fairhaven, Mass.) serving but Emmanuel held on for the 25-13 win.

The Saints struggled early in the third set and Mount Ida capitalized by racing out to a 12-5 lead after a kill by junior middle hitter Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md.).  Trailing 15-10, Emmanuel's passing game began to improve and the offensive benefited as the hosts rattled off nine straight points to pull ahead 19-15 behind the service of Journeay. A kill by Alkinburg pulled the Mustangs to within one at 21-20 but the hosts held on for the come-from-behind win in the final frame, 25-22.

Rose led the way for the Saints with a team-high seven kills and a .400 hitting clip while junior middle Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.) added six kills. Journey posted a team-high 20 digs while rookie setter Carly Church (Higganum, Conn.) dished out 13 helpers.

Sophomore Mary Kate Reidy (Agawam, Mass.) paced the Mustangs with seven kills while Walton finished with five. Davis finished the night with a match-high 19 assists while senior libero Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) posted a match-best 22 digs.

The Saints return to action on Saturday, October 3 when they play Norwich University at 11:00 AM in Northfield, Vt. Mount Ida played the same day in a tri-match on the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus starting with the hosts at 11:00 AM followed by a non-conference tilt with Eastern Nazarene at 1:00 PM.