LEE BECOMES WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL ALL-TIME DIGS LEADER IN 3-2 WIN OVER EASTERN NAZARENE
Senior libero Yun-Ting Lee (Keelung, Taiwan) recorded 27 digs to lead Emmanuel College past Eastern Nazarene College, 3-2 (25-9, 22-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-12), Thursday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. With her 27 digs, Lee surpassed former teammate Jenna Ross (Class of 2012) as the Emmanuel College women’s volleyball all-time digs leader and now has 1,568 career digs. With the win, the Saints improve to 6-12 on the year while the loss drops the Lions to 10-7 overall.
BOSTON, Mass. – Senior libero Yun-Ting Lee (Keelung, Taiwan) recorded 27 digs to lead Emmanuel College past Eastern Nazarene College, 3-2 (25-9, 22-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-12), Thursday evening at the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston, Mass. With her 27 digs, Lee surpassed former teammate Jenna Ross (Class of 2012) as the Emmanuel College women's volleyball all-time digs leader and now has 1,568 career digs. With the win, the Saints improve to 6-12 on the year while the loss drops the Lions to 10-7 overall.
The Saints came out on fire in the opening set en route to the 25-9 victory. The Lions also hit very poorly in the frame, collecting a total of 12 hitting errors which was too much to overcome.
Eastern Nazarene would wake up in the second set, sending a message to the hosts that they were in for a great match. Junior middle blocker Cayla Clinkscale (Winchendon, Mass.) was strong in the frame with three kills and a .600 hitting percentage to help the Lions post the 25-22 win and even the match at 1-1.
The third set saw several ties and lead changes before Eastern Nazarene was able to outlast the hosts, 25-23. Trailing 20-18, Emmanuel rattled off back-to-back points capped by an ace from sophomore defensive specialist Cara Callahan (Medway, Mass.) to even the game at 20-all. The Saints would roll off two more points as senior middle hitter Nathalie Victoria (Brockton, Mass.) and sophomore right side Sarah Colby (West Barnstable, Mass.) teamed up for a block assist to give EC a 22-20 margin, forcing the Lions to call a timeout. The visitors were able to regain some composure and answered with the next four points capped by a kill from junior middle Leann Williams (Oxford, Pa.) to take a 24-22 lead. Colby would put home a kill to make it a one-point match at 24-23 but the Lions capitalized on an Emmanuel hitting error to take the third set, 25-23 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Emmanuel fought back to force a fifth frame with a dominant showing in the fourth set that saw Lee collect her record-breaking dig. The Saints used a strong service game and played solid defense en route to the 25-17 win. Leading the way offensively in the set was freshman middle hitter Brittany Tutalo (Johnston, R.I.) who served up a pair of aces to go along with 4 kills.
In the decisive fifth set, the Lions jumped ahead to a commanding 10-4 lead with the help of several Emmanuel hitting errors but the Saints were able to regroup and finish strong. Three consecutive points pulled the hosts to within three at 10-7, forcing the visitors to expend their first timeout. Following the break in the action, Emmanuel rattled off four more straight points as freshman setter Shannon Dudley (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) finished the eight-point run with a kill to give EC the 12-10 lead. Eastern Nazarene used its final timeout to try and stop the bleeding but Lee served up an ace coming out of the timeout to make it 13-10 in favor of the Saints. EC ended the streak with a hitting error to make it 13-11 but sophomore outside hitter Christine Durkee (Salem, Conn.) made it match point with a kill. Clinkscale would match with a kill of her own to pull the Lions to within two at 14-12 but Tutalo smashed home her ninth kill of the night to give the Saints the 15-12 win and the match, 3-2.
Freshman outside hitter Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) led the way offensively for the Saints, producing 14 kills and a .355 hitting clip while Colby and Tutalo each added nine kills in the win. Dudley dished out a team-high 28 assists while sophomore setter Allison Donnelly (Longmeadow, Mass.) chipped in with 18 helpers. Besides Lee's game-high 27 digs, the Saints also got a strong defensive performance from Durkee who added 21 digs to go along with five aces in the win.
For the Lions, Clinkscale finished with a team-best 11 kills while freshman outside hitter Dana Day (Coarsegold, Calif.) notched 10 kills and 16 digs on the night. Sophomore libero Kori Sorenson (Quincy, Mass.) was strong defensively with 19 digs while sophomore setter Birdina Tuiava (Colorado Springs, Colo.) ran the offensive show with 30 assists.
The Saints are now idle until Wednesday, October 3 when they host Suffolk University in their GNAC home-opener at 7:00 PM while Eastern Nazarene resumes plays on Saturday at 11:00 AM and 1:00PM for a doubleheader against Wellesley and Emerson College on the Wellesley College campus.