Women's Volleyball Splits Senior Day Tri-Match With Mitchell, St. Joseph's (ME)

BOSTON – Emmanuel women's volleyball took a split of the play on a Senior Day Tri-Match Saturday, defeating Mitchell in match one before falling to Saint Joseph's (ME) in the final match of the day. The results give Emmanuel the No. 7 seed for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Playoffs, starting on Monday.

Prior to the start of match two, the Emmanuel Saints Women's Volleyball program celebrated the careers of Sasha Hyacinthe (Stoughton, Mass.), Camila Moreno-Bo (Miami, Fla.), Brigid Moriarty (Westfield, Mass.), and Seana Phillips (Middleboro, Mass.) in a Senior Day ceremony.

Match 1: Emmanuel 3 – Mitchell 1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 30-28)

The opening set on Saturday morning came down to the final points with the Saints and Mariners tied at 16-16. Mitchell broke free with four consecutive points and never let Emmanuel back into the set, holding that four-point edge until a kill by junior Allison Blum (Garden Grove, Calif.) ended the set, 25-21, for the Mariners.

Mitchell held on to that first set momentum into the early parts of the second, leading 11-5 in the set. The Saints took control of the second set with a 13-2 scoring run, taking an 18-13 lead in the process. The Mariners battled back to tie the set late, but the Emmanuel momentum swung back in their favor with a set-clinching ace from Phillips, for the 25-22 set win.

Another close set in the third came down to a strong closeout by the Saints to take a 2-1 sets lead in the match. With a 19-17 lead, Moreno-Bo stepped to the service line and helped the Saints deliver six consecutive points to earn a 25-17 win.

The fourth and final set needed extra points to determine a winner. Emmanuel defended three set points while Mitchell fought off two match points in the fourth. Tied at 28-28, a Saints kill for sophomore Isabella Marquez (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and a Mitchell error ended the match in favor of the Saints, thanks to a 30-28 set victory.

Marquez finished the match with a team-high 14 kills to go along with nine digs and three total blocks. First-year Kason Huynh (Mission Viejo, Calif.) added 10 kills, 10 digs, and 12 assists for a triple-double. Moreno-Bo chipped in with a career-high 13 digs.

Mariners junior Bliss Brown (Rainbow City, Ala.) led the match with 24 kills. Blum added 19 kills and 22 digs, hitting .218 on the day.

Match 2: St. Joseph's (ME) 3 – Emmanuel 0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-18)

The final match of the regular season and a match to decide the No. 6 and No. 7 seed in the GNAC Postseason started with a closely contested opening set. The Monks fended off one set point and claimed the first frame with kills by junior Maggie Sylvester (Barrington, N.H.) and first-year Larisa Comolli (Nashua, N.H.) for a 26-24 win.

In the second set, what started as a back and forth battle for momentum quickly broke in favor of Saint Joseph's, who used an 8-3 run to open up a 20-14 lead. The Saints fought back to as close as three, but the Monks edge was too large for that late in the set and a kill for junior Ava Brownsword (Richmond, Vt.) gave SJC a 25-20 set victory.

The final set opened with the Monks taking 10 of the first 13 points to hold a seven-point advantage. Emmanuel used two separate 4-0 mini runs to draw within a pair of points, but similar to the second set, the Monks lead was too large to overcome. The final four points went to Saint Joseph's on their way to a 25-18 set win and a straight sets sweep to claim the No. 6 seed in the GNAC Playoffs.

Sylvester finished with a match-high 16 kills, hitting .282 on the afternoon. Sophomore Nadia Sixto (Chattanooga, Tenn.) added 13 kills with an impressive .455 attack percentage.

Marquez led the Saints with 13 kills in the second match. Junior Paula Tanguilig (Sandwich, Mass.) chipped in with a match-best 19 digs.

Up Next

The Saints (16-10, 9-6 GNAC) host a Play-In Round Match against either Mitchell or Colby-Sawyer depending on results from matches later today. That match will be held in the Jean Yawkey Center on Monday, Nov. 6 with a time to be announced.

The Monks (14-15, 10-5 GNAC) sit out the Play-In Round of the Postseason and will get their playoff run underway on Tuesday, Nov. 7 against the No. 3 seed Johnson & Wales.

The Mariners (7-18, 5-10 GNAC) await the result from Colby-Sawyer vs. Albertus Magnus to determine their future in the 2023 season.