Saints Win Five Set Play-In Thriller, Advance to GNAC Volleyball Quarterfinals

BOSTON – No. 7 Emmanuel (17-10) advanced to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball Quarterfinals with a 3-2 (25-14, 25-19, 24-26, 24-26, 15-9) win over No. 10 Colby-Sawyer (7-24) on Monday night in the Jean Yawkey Center. It was Saints Women's Volleyball's first postseason victory since taking down Anna Maria in 2015 in the GNAC Quarterfinals.

The first set was a back and forth battle all the way up until the score was level at 14-14. With Camila Moreno-Bo (Miami, Fla.) serving, the Saints closed the set on an 11-0 run to win 25-14. The run featured three kills from sophomore outside hitter Isabella Marquez (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and two from senior middle blocker Seana Phillips (Middleboro, Mass.). Moreno-Bo also added an ace.

The beginning of set number two saw the Saints momentum continue. The home team was able to jump out to an early lead at 7-2 and would continue to hold the lead, but Colby-Sawyer fought back. With the score 11-6, Colby-Swayer went on to win eight of the next ten points. The run featured two kills from Ally Majenski (Marshfield, Mass.) and another from Delaney Skourtis (Tilton, N.H.) and led to an Emmanuel timeout with the Chargers leading 14-13. After the timeout, the Saints went on a 6-0 run that included three consecutive service aces from first-year setter Kason Huynh (Mission Viejo, Calif.). Emmanuel did not look back and took a 2-0 lead with a 25-19 second set victory.

The Saints fell behind 8-4 early in the third set but were able to battle back and level the match at nine. The two sides would trade points until a 5-0 Colby-Sawyer run put the chargers up 17-13. Once again, the Saints battled back and leveled the score at 24, but a service error and a Katie Mollberg (Naples, Fla.) kill saw the Chargers take the third set 26-24.

Much like the second set, Emmanuel took an early lead only to see Colby-Sawyer charge back. With the score 12-7, eight of the next nine points went the way of the visiting Chargers as they took a 15-13 lead. The chargers would once again take the lead at 17-16 and did not trail for the remainder of the set. A service error and one more Majenski kill gave the Chargers another 26-24 set victory and leveled the match at 2-2.

After the Chargers took the first two points of the fifth set, Emmanuel sparked a 6-0 run that was capped off by an emphatic Sasha Hyacinthe (Stoughton, Mass.) block. The Saints did not trail for the remainder of the match and led by as many as six. Emmanuel survives and advances with a 15-9 fifth set win.

Marquez led the Saints with 20 kills. Phillips added 14 herself. Huynh posted a triple-double by tallying 10 kills, 30 assists, and 13 digs. Paula Tanguilig (Sandwich, Mass.) led Emmanuel with 17 digs. Phillips and Hyacinthe contributed eight blocks apiece. Skourtis led the Chargers with 13 kills. Brooke Patnode (Weare, N.H.) was the match leader in assists with 33. Audra Fontes (Fresno, Calif.) led the Chargers with 16 digs.

The Saints will travel to No. 2 Regis at 7 P.M. tomorrow (11/7) for the GNAC Quarterfinals. Colby-Sawyer concludes their season with a 7-24 overall record.