VOLLEYBALL TEAM ROLLS ON; SAINTS TOP SHARKS, 3-1

BOSTON – The Emmanuel College Women's Volleyball Team headed across the street on Tuesday night for a Colleges of the Fenway (COF) showdown with Simmons College in the Holmes Sports Center.  The Saints took care of the Sharks in four sets, 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19) to preserve their unbeaten mark in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.  Emmanuel now stands at 19-10 on the season and 9-0 in conference play.  The loss for Simmons dropped the Sharks to 8-22 overall and 6-3 in the GNAC.

In game one, the Saints took an early 10-3 lead off stellar hitting by Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.) and Cassie Chruscielski (Duluth, Minn.). Simmons cut the deficit to four as freshmen Kat Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) and Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) added kills for the Sharks. Emmanuel went up 22-16, but Simmons fought back with four-straight points to trail by two. Chruscielski threw down a kill to give the Saints a 23-20 lead and Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) added point 24 as the Sharks took a timeout. Simmons senior Megan Chamberlin (Milford, Mass.) buried two kills and Morgan Kieon (North Attleboro, Mass.) added another as the Sharks tied the game at 24. But two Simmons' errors gave the Saints the win, 26-24.

Simmons dominated set two with strong play sophomore Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) and Rossi Fish (North Attleboro, Mass.), who added 10 and 6 kills, respectively. With the game tied at 10, Chamberlin added an ace and Alberghini, Guillotte and Fish all added kills for the lead. But the Saints tied the game at 19-all as Atkinson, Sarah Colby (West Barnstable, Mass.) and Chruscielski found holes in the Sharks' defense. The Sharks took advantage of two Emmanuel errors and Fish added an ace for a 22-19 lead. Kieon and Alberghini each added kills to tie the match 1-1.

Emmanuel trailed just once in the third set.  Atkinson put down four kills and Chruscielski added three in the Saints' 10-6 opening lead. Chamberlin added an ace for the Sharks, but the Saints went on to hit .400 and took a 2-1 lead, 25-15.

Both teams played exceptional defense in game four. The Sharks took a 6-5 lead off of four Saints' errors, but Chruscielski tallied two kills in a row to regain the lead, 7-6. After swapping points, the Saints emerged with a 14-11 lead and two errors erased the margin to one. Errors plagued the Sharks as Emmanuel went up 17-14 and Chruscielski and Tutalo added the final kills as Emmanuel rolled to a 3-1 win.

The Saints put together solid numbers all around.  The freshman duo of Chruscielski and Atkinson led the Saints attack.  Chruscielski hammered down a match and season-high 19 kills and tallied 12 digs to notch a double-double.  Atkinson added 12 kills and 3 assisted blocks.  Sophomore Brittany Tutalo (Johnston, R.I.) also had a double-figure kill total, finding the floor 11 times, while hitting .360 for the match.  Rose posted a strong offensive night with 7 kills in 16 swings for a team-best .375 hitting percentage.

Sophomore setter Shannon Dudley (Morro Bay, Calif.) ran the Emmanuel offense throughout, dishing out a match-high 49 assists in the win.  Dudley also collected 17 digs in the Saints' backrow.  Junior Cara Callahan (Medway, Mass.) picked up a team-high 18 digs to lead the Emmanuel defense.

The Saints will face their biggest GNAC test on Saturday afternoon (10/26), when they host Rivier University and the University of Saint Joseph in a conference tri-match.  With both Emmanuel and Rivier currently undefeated in the league, the opening match of the day will be the deciding factor in determining the top seed for the upcoming GNAC tournament.  The Saints and the Raiders are set to square off at noontime.

- Release courtesy of Simmons College Sports Information