Women's Volleyball Splits Tri-Match Courtesy 3-1 Win vs. St. Joe's of Long Island

QUINCY, Mass. – In the first tri-match Saturday of the season, the Emmanuel Saints women's volleyball program earned a split of their matches, starting the day with a 3-1 win over St. Joseph's of Long Island, before falling in straight sets to the unbeaten Eastern Nazarene Lions.

Match 1: Emmanuel 3 – Saint Joseph's of Long Island 1 (25-14, 14-25, 25-23, 25-12)

In the opening set of the afternoon, the Saints used a season-best for a set .407 attack percentage to claim a 25-14 set win. After a 7-7 start, Emmanuel broke away with an 11-2 scoring run, to lead 18-9. Emmanuel sophomore Maeve Gaffny (North Andover, Mass.) capped off the first set win with a kill, giving EC the 25-14 set win.

In the second set, the Golden Eagles used a scoring run in the middle of the set to tie the match at 1-1. After an 8-8 opening, St. Joseph's sprinted away from the Saints with a 15-2 burst, taking control of the second set at 23-10. After a small spurt by EC, a second set ended courtesy a handling error, as the Golden Eagles won a 25-14 set of their own.

The third set saw a back-and-forth battle where neither team held more than a three-point edge. The set came down to the final two points after the third reached 23-23 late in the set. A Golden Eagles attack error, followed by a Saints kill for senior Seana Phillips (Middleboro, Mass.) gave Emmanuel the set win, 25-23.

Emmanuel carried the momentum of winning the third set into the fourth, never trailing on their way to a 25-12 set win. After a 10-8 start and lead for the Saints, the next eight points belonged to EC, all part of a 15-4 run to finish the match. Sophomore Sydnie Germain (Ludlow, Mass.) finished the match with a game-sealing kill, giving Emmanuel a 3-1 sets win.

Sophomore Isabella Marquez (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) led the Saints with 13 kills while hitting .333 in the match. Fellow sophomore Wiktoria Galazyn (Plainville, Conn.) had seven kills while Phillips finished with five kills and a .375 hitting percentage.

SJLI senior Madison Gremil (Bay Shore, N.Y.) led all players with 16 kills while hitting .265 from the floor. Junior Jackie Wolf (Kings Park, N.Y.) added seven kills and eight digs. Senior setter Karen Barrera Carreno (Bellport, N.Y.) led the match with 30 assists.

Match 2: Eastern Nazarene 3 – Emmanuel 0 (25-11, 25-16, 25-8)

The opening set of match two started close with ENC taking a 9-7 lead in the early going. From there, the Lions controlled all the momentum in the set, running away with a 16-4 scoring run to finish the first set, 25-11. Eastern Nazarene hit .400 from the floor in the opening set, including seven kills for sophomore Maria Clarabuch (Saint Cugat Del Valles, Spain).

The Saints were out of the gates quickly in the second set, scoring the first five points of the frame. The early lead was short-lived as ENC flipped the score, with a 12-4 run to grab a 12-9 lead. Later in the set, a Lions five-point run took them from up three to a 23-15 edge, a vital run in claiming the second set. ENC finished off the second with an assisted block, taking the set 25-16.

In the day's final set, ENC opened the third with a strong start, jumping out to a 13-5 advantage. ENC held that eight-point edge through the middle of the set, but one final scoring run, this time of 10-1 for Eastern Nazarene would finish off the Saints in straight sets. Back-to-back service aces by sophomore Andrea Aceituno (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) ended the third, 25-8.

Clarabuch and Aceituno each finished with 10 kills for the Lions. Aceituno added 10 digs and four service aces while also hitting .600 from the floor. Junior Nareichka Melendez (Worcester, Mass.) chipped in with a career-high eight service aces. The Lions hit .439 on the afternoon, including a blazing .550 (12-1-20) in the final frame.

Galazyn led the Saints with six kills in the second match. Marquez was one behind, ending her afternoon with five kills. Marquez added a team-high eight digs in the Saints defeat.

Emmanuel (3-2) returns back home on Tuesday, Sept. 19, welcoming Curry to the Jean Yawkey Center for a 7:00 p.m. match. Eastern Nazarene (8-0) starts a four-game road trip with a match at Suffolk on Sept. 19 at 7:00 p.m. St. Joe's of Long Island (3-3) looks to bounce back with a Sept. 20 home match vs. New York Maritime Academy at 7:00 p.m.