Women's Volleyball Sweeps Tri-Match Saturday vs. USJ, Dean

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Emmanuel Saints women's volleyball opened up their Great Northeast Athletic Conference schedule with a tri-match on Saturday afternoon, sweeping their pair of matches against the Univ. of Saint Joseph (Conn.) and Dean at the James A. Calhoun Gymnasium.

Match 1: Emmanuel 3 – Dean 1 (25-11, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23)

The opening set was all Emmanuel, as the Saints won 16 of the match's first 17 points, to lead 16-1. A late-set Dean run of 8-1 closed the margin, but a kill for sophomore Wiktoria Galazyn (Plainville, Conn.) finished off the set at 25-11.

A much tighter-contested second set required a comeback win for the Saints, who took a 2-0 sets lead. Dean led by as many as five in the middle of the set at 18-13, but the Saints went on a 9-2 run to overtake the Bulldogs and lead 22-20. After a Dean point made it 22-21, three straight Bulldog attack errors handed EC the second set.

Dean managed to hold off another Saints comeback attempt in the third set to advance the match to a fourth set. Dean was out ahead early, similar to the second set. With set point at 24-20, the Saints fended off three set points for Dean to trail 24-23. On their fourth set point try, Bulldogs sophomore Caitlin Cooper (Amherst, N.H.) finally put the set away, with a kill, to give Dean the 25-23 win.

The fourth set looked like an Emmanuel runaway after a 12-2 run had all the momentum with the Saints and an 18-13 lead. Dean battled back but never managed to overtake Emmanuel's advantage. On match point, Saints sophomore Isabella Marquez (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) finished off the match with a kill, claiming a 25-23 set win.

Marquez finished the match with a career-high 17 kills while hitting .455 in the match. The sophomore outside hitter also finished with a team-high 22 digs, giving her at least 22 digs in three matches this season. First-year Kason Huynh (Mission Viejo, Calif.) had a career-high 11 kills to go with 12 digs for her first career double-double.

Cooper and junior Emily Larouche (Agawam, Mass.) tied for the team-high with nine kills apiece. Cooper hit .538 from the floor; a match-high.

Match 2: Emmanuel 3 – Univ. of Saint Joseph 0 (25-21, 25-11, 25-21)

The Saints never trailed in the opening set of their second match against the Blue Jays. Emmanuel led by as many as six and fended off several comebacks by USJ. The Blue Jays trailed 12-6, 19-16, and 23-18, nearly coming back from those deficits, but a USJ attack error ended the set, 25-21 for Emmanuel.

After a back-and-forth battle for momentum early in the second, it was a set-ending 12-2 Saints run that eventually created the 25-11 margin of victory. The Saints hit an efficient .435 from the floor in the second set win.

The third set played out nearly identically to that of the first set, with USJ nearly coming back on multiple occasions, despite never managing to hold a lead in the set. The Blue Jays cut a 17-9 deficit down to three at 20-17. Emmanuel managed to create the necessary breathing room with three straight points to lead 23-17. Marquez would finish off one more set on the afternoon, ending the third 25-21, giving the Saints a tri-match sweep.

Marquez and Galazyn each had 10 kills in the win, hitting .455 and .304, respectively. Junior Paula Tanguilig (Sandwich, Mass.) had a team-high 14 digs.

First-year Blue Jays Shaye Harris (Prospect, Conn.) ended the match with a team-high nine kills. Senior Fernanda Ayala Rodriguez (San Juan, PR) added a match-high 15 digs.

The Saints (7-3, 2-0 GNAC) continue their season with a match at New England College on Sept. 27 at 6:00 p.m. The Blue Jays (1-12, 1-3 GNAC) host Rivier on Sept. 27 at 6:00 p.m. while the Bulldogs (3-10, 2-3 GNAC) host Curry on Sept. 26 for a non-conference match at 7:00 p.m.