SAINTS LOSE TIGHTLY CONTESTED FOUR-SETTER TO PLYMOUTH STATE

BOSTON, Mass. - Despite taking the first set of Wednesday night's match against Plymouth State, the Emmanuel College women's volleyball team dropped a very close four-set match, 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 20-25, 24-26).

SET 1

Sophomore Mary Shelow (Miami, Fla.) kicked things off with a sharp kill for the first point of the match, but the teams traded the opening few points, starting off even at 4-4. 

PSU senior Brianna Wojtas's (Salem, N.H.) first kill sparked a mini 7-2 rally that put Plymouth State up 11-6, but it was all Saints from that point forward. EC scored eight of the next 10 and 13 of the next 17 points, to jump ahead, 19-15.

Wojtas sandwiched two kills around a PSU attack error to cut the lead to 20-17, but four errors and a Shelow kill were enough to give the Saints the set at 25-20.

SET 2

The second set began tied at 3-3 before the Panthers produced five straight points, thanks to three kills for Wojtas and two aces by sophomore Alisha Flanagan (Milton, N.H.).

Shelow responded with a kill and two aces of her own to help the Saints match the run and tie things back up at 8-8.

Wojtas and Flanagan kept powering the Panthers later in the set, as Wojtas' kill at 17-14 started PSU run of nine points in the final 13 to close the set at 25-18.

SET 3

Much like the rest of the match, things stayed with three points for most of the third set. An attack error by senior Kayla Wyland (Melrose, Mass.) allowed Emmanuel to pull within one at 14-13 before the Panthers rattled off five straight points to take control.

The Saints wouldn't let the set go easily, scoring four of the last five points after trailing 24-16, but had Plymouth State's last three kills of the set to wrap things up at 25-20.

SET 4

Plymouth State came out of the gates on a mission in the eventual final set, leading 8-4 after a kill by junior Grace Sporer (Medford, Ore.). However, the Saints had some fuel left in the tank, combining four PSU errors with a Katharine Journeay (Hampton, N.H.) ace to take a 9-8 lead.

EC led by as many as four points in themiddle of the set, but things tightened up again down the stretch. The Panthers and Saints fought tooth and nail from an 18-18 tie down to the final points, as the Saints fought off a 24-23 match point, but dropped the set 26-24 after two more kills by Wojtas.

Wojtas finished the match with 21 kills to lead all players, while Taffe chipped in with 12 of her own. Junior Megan Bailey (Canterbury, N.H.) dished out 44 assists in the victory and Sporer and junior Brenna Peruch (Cave Creek, Az.) picked up 13 and 16 digs, respectively.

Shelow led the hosts with 15 kills, while sophomore setter Carly Church (Higganum, Conn.) and freshman counterpart Samantha DeMarco (Rockland, Mass.) each passed out 17 assists. Senior captain Sarah Schemerhorn (Los Angeles, Calif.) picked up 18 digs and Journeay hit double digits with 10.

The Saints return to the floor for their third match of the week on Friday evening when Maine Maritime visits Boston for a rematch of last week's match in the Wheaton Invitational. The Saints dropped that match, 3-1. The Panthers are off until Saturday when they travel to take on Eastern Connecticut in conference play.