SAINTS NOTCH 20TH WIN IN GNAC TRI-MATCH SPLIT

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Women's Volleyball Team hosted its final tri-match of the regular season, playing host to Rivier University and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday afternoon in the Jean Yawkey Center.  The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match marked Emmanuel's Dig Pink games for breast cancer awareness.

Rivier rolled past the host Saints and visiting Blue Jays in straight sets, to improve to 11-0 in GNAC action and complete their regular season conference slate without dropping a single set.  Emmanuel finished the day with a split, after losing to Riv in match one, 0-3, and then posting a 3-0 win over Saint Joseph in the final match of the day.

Rivier's sweep improved the Raiders to 21-8 overall, 11-0 GNAC.  The split pushed Emmanuel to 20-11, 10-1 GNAC, while the pair of losses dropped Saint Joseph to 9-17, 3-7 GNAC.

The Saints' win over USJ marked Emmanuel's 20^th win of the season.  The last time EC posted a 20-win season was during the 2011-campaign.  Saturday's tri-match split ensured the Saints a No. 2 seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament to be played November, 5, 7 and 9.  Rivier once again earned the tournament's top seed.

MATCH 1:

In the opening match of the day, the Raiders surged out to a 5-0 lead and built the advantage to 9-1, before Emmanuel mounted any sort of significant attack.  The Saints would rally to go on an 11-3 run, forging a Rivier timeout.  An ensuing kill by Sarah Colby (West Barnstable, Mass.) gave Emmanuel its first lead of the match at 12-11.  Rivier took advantage of strong hitting by freshman middle Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) to jump back out in front, 21-17.  After having been tied up at 14-all, the visiting Raiders put together an 11-3 run of their own to take a 25-17 set one win.

Strong serving by sophomore setter Shannon Dudley (Morro Bay, Calif.) forced the Raiders to struggle a bit in their early game two offense and Rivier held just a minimal lead to open things up.  Emmanuel kills by Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Brittany Tutalo (Johnston, R.I.) cut the Saints' deficit to 11-10, but the hosts would come no closer, only scoring three more points before it was over, as Rivier pulled out a 25-14 set two win.

A huge assisted block by Nicole Peacock (Warwick, R.I.) gave the Raiders a 14-12 advantage in game three.  The Saints would hang on a battle hard, as a kill by Tutalo made it a 20-17 game.  The Raiders led by three at 23-20, after Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.) found the floor from the middle. A kill by Silverman forged match-point for the Raiders and an assisted block by Silverman and Nicole Boucher (Windham, N.H.) ended the action at 25-20 and gave Rivier the 3-0 match win.

Peacock and Silverman combined for 24 kills in the win for the Raiders.  Sophomore setter Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, Calif.) dished out 31 assists, while senior libero Jessica Amaral (East Providence, R.I.) led the Riv backrow with 13 digs.  The Raiders served off a team-total of 13 aces, including four apiece by Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) and Lyndsey Sweeney (Coventry, R.I.).

Atkinson was the offensive leader for the Saints with 11 kills and 2 blocks.  Dudley handed out 19 helpers, while freshman outside hitter Cassie Chruscielski (Duluth, Minn.) gathered 14 digs in the effort.

MATCH 2:

The Raiders were solid throughout match two, easily handling the Blue Jays with set scores of 25-13, 25-19 and 25-12.  Senior middle Nicole Boucher (Windham, N.H.) was the leader for the Raiders in the second match of the day, hitting at a clip of .583 with 8 kills in 12 swings.  O'Reilly dished out 30 assists, while Amaral totaled 12 digs in the win.

Sophomore outside hitter Emily Vigue (Lebanon, Conn.) led USJ with 9 kills and 5 digs.  Junior setter Megan Williams (Lakeville, Conn.) handed out 16 assists and junior libero Elizabeth Tuazon (Mystic, Conn.) anchored the Blue Jays' backrow with 7 digs in the effort.

MATCH 3:

The Saints were able to rebound in the third match of the day, but had to battle hard to earn their twentieth victory of the season.  With EC up by one, a service ace by Vigue knotted the score at 9-all in the early going.  The Blue Jays took an 11-10 edge to force an Emmanuel timeout.   The Saints would go on a 4-2 run out of the timeout to go up, 14-12. A kill by Tutalo made it a 17-14 game in favor of the hosts. Tutalo would put one down in the middle to force set point at 24-19, before USJ put together a late 4-0 run.  EC ended it on a Blue Jay hitting error for a narrow 25-23 set win.

EC battled out to a 15-9 lead to open set two, after an assisted block by Atkinson and Rose.  A solo block by Atkinson made it a 19-14 game and forced a USJ timeout.  Kills by Chruscielski and Tutalo and an ace by Durkee were part of the final five points for Emmanuel and the Saints took set two, 25-19.

Emmanuel opened game three with a 5-0 lead after a Colby ace and an Atkinson kill and the Saints never looked back.  A kill from the backrow by Dudley gave EC a 10-3 lead.  Big swings by junior outside hitter Ciara Perez (Manchester, Conn.)  kept the Blue Jays in the hunt, but the Saints were too strong down the stretch and Emmanuel pulled out the 25-15 set three win for the match sweep.

Atkinson led the way for Emmanuel with her match-high 12 kills and .500 hitting percentage.  She also sent back 4 total blocks in the win.  Chruscielski added 9 kill and 4 digs, while Dudley dished out 22 assists.

Senior outside hitter Amanda Dondero (Mastic, N.Y.) hit .316 with 9 kills for the Blue Jays.  Perez finished with 8 kills and a team-high 8 digs.  Williams handed out a match-high 24 assists to run the offense for USJ.

The Saints will return to the hardwood on Thursday, October 31, as they host Salve Regina University in a non-conference tilt.  The Halloween battle will be the final regular season home match for the Saints.  Having earned the No.2 seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament, the Saints will host quarterfinal action on Tuesday, November 5, at 7:00 PM in the Jean Yawkey Center.