SAINTS SWEEP GNAC VOLLEYBALL TRI-MATCH OVER ALBERTUS MAGNUS & MOUNT IDA

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's volleyball team notched a pair of 3-0 victories Saturday afternoon, defeating Albertus Magnus College (25-8, 25-16, 25-13) and Mount Ida College (25-14, 25-11, 25-13) to improve to 13-9 overall and 4-0 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.  After the tri-match the Falcons stand at 9-7 overall and 1-3 in the GNAC while the Mustangs fall to 3-18 and 0-5 in GNAC action.

Match 1 – Emmanuel vs. Albertus Magnus

The Saints came out of the gates on fire, scoring the first 11 points of the set to set the tone for the match. Junior right side hitter Sarah Colby (West Barnstable, Mass.) paced the service game by serving up 10 straight points before Albertus Magnus sophomore hitter Amber Cohens (Hamden, Conn.) got the Falcons on the board with a kill to make it 11-1. Freshman middle hitter Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.) closed out the set with three consecutive kills to give EC the 25-8 win.

In the second set, the Falcons turned the tables on Emmanuel by jumping out to an early 4-0 lead but it was short lived as the Saints regrouped to push ahead at 5-4. Once the hosts gained the lead, they would not let it go. Emmanuel was able to hold AMC to a .000 hitting percentage on the set (7 kills, 7 errors, 27 attacks) en route to the 25-16 win.

In the final frame, EC pushed ahead early with a 7-1 lead that would prove to be too much of a deficit for the visitors to overcome. Freshman defensive specialist Mellyn Costello (East Bridgewater, Mass.) came in late in the frame and served up four aces to push the Saints to a 25-13 win.

Atkinson finished with a game-high eight kills while sophomore outside hitter Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) added seven kills.  Colby collected a game-high six aces while junior libero Cara Callahan (Medway, Mass.) paced the Saints defense with nine digs. Sophomore Shannon Dudley (Morro Bay, Calif.) notched 20 assists in the win.

For the Falcons, senior outside hitter Melissa Manning (Milford, Conn.) led the way with six kills and eight digs. Freshman Caitlin Prete (Milford, Conn.) also collected a game-high 10 digs while senior setter Lily Dy (Torrington, Conn.) dished out 15 assists.

Match 2 – Albertus Magnus vs. Mount Ida

In the middle match, Albertus Magnus outlasted Mount Ida College, 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 27-29, 13-26, 15-9). After taking the first two sets, the Mustangs battled back to make things interesting but the Falcons would prevail with the five-set victory.

Manning posted a double-double recording a match-high 14 kills to go along with 18 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist Ramona Onofrio (East Haven, Conn.) was stellar defensively with 25 digs while Dy chipped in with 25 assists.

For the Mustangs, freshman outside hitter Alysha Dunbar (Quincy, Mass.) registered a team-best 10 kills while junior setter Nicole Peixoto (New Bedford, Mass.) dished out a match-high 32 assists. Sophomore libero Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) added 24 digs in the effort.

Match 3 – Emmanuel vs. Mount Ida

The Saints completed the sweep with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-13) win over the Mustangs in which they held Mount Ida to a dismal -.150 team hitting percentage.  Emmanuel also used a strong service game in which they notched 15 aces in the win to improve to 4-0 in the GNAC.

In the opening set, the action was back and forth until the midway point where the Saints took control. With the score locked at 13-13, Emmanuel rolled off three consecutive points behind the service of junior Christine Durkee (Salem, Conn.) to push ahead 16-13. The Mustangs would record a point to make it 16-14 but then Callahan served the Saints to the win, reeling off the final nine points of the frame for the 25-14 win.

Emmanuel put the visitors away early in set two, jumping out to an 8-1 lead behind Durkee's service game. The Saints led by as many as 15 in the frame  (20-5) but Mount Ida was able to fight for some points late in the action including a kill from Kellie Schroeder (North Grafton, Mass.). It was too little to late as EC held on for the 25-11 win.

The Saints closed the door on the Mustangs in the third set by hitting an extremely efficient .364 clip from the floor en route to the 25-13 win. Durkee served up a pair of aces in the final series including the match-point to seal the victory.

Atkinson finished with a match-high seven kills while Durkee ended the match with six aces. Dudley recording 16 assists and seven digs in the win. Freshman outside hitter Cassie Chruscielski (Duluth, Minn.) also recorded seven digs.

For the Mustangs, senior outside hitter Emily Hutvagner (Beacons Falls, Conn.) paced their offense with six kills while freshman setter Chevona Markel (Torrington, Conn.) dished out 11 assists.

Emmanuel returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 9 when they head to Lesley University for a non-conference match-up scheduled for 8:00 PM.