WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL DOWNS RIVIER, ST. JOE’S IN GNAC TRI-MATCH

STANDISH, Maine – The Emmanuel College Women's Volleyball Team battled to a pair of wins over Rivier University and Saint Joseph's College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match played on the campus of St. Joseph's College on Saturday afternoon.  With the two victories, the Saints extend their winning streak to five matches, as they remain undefeated in conference play at 5-0 and improve to 17-9 on the season.

Emmanuel's 3-1 victory over Rivier this afternoon marked the first time the Saints defeated the Raiders in the past five seasons.  Prior to today, Emmanuel's last win over Rivier came in a 3-2 victory back on September 19, 2009.  After falling in the first set, 21-25, and dropping the opening five points of the second set, the Saints put together a six-point run to pull out in front.  With the set tied at 13-all, the Saints went on a 12-6 run to take the game and even the match at 1-1.  Emmanuel led end-to-end in the third and pulled out a 25-22 set win.  The fourth set featured six ties, before the Saints took the lead for good at 17-16 and then ended the match on an 8-4 run.  The final streak in the 25-20 win featured four services aces from EC.

Sophomore Cassie Chruscielski (Duluth, Minn.) led the Saints, posting her 6th double-double of the season. Chruscielski hammered down a match-high 11 kills to go along with her 13 digs.  Junior Brittany Tutalo (Johnston, R.I.) and sophomore Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.) notched seven and five kills, respectively, and combined for three blocks in the win.  Senior libero Cara Callahan (Medway, Mass.) gathered a match-high 21 digs to lead the Saints' defense, while junior setter Shannon Dudley (Moro Bay, Calif.) dished out 21 assists.

Emmanuel battled to a 3-2 win over the host Monks, splitting the opening sets, 25-17, 22-25, 18-25 and 25-13, before the Saints took the fifth and deciding set, 15-8.  Chruscielski again led the way with another double-double, including a match-high 15 kills and 11 digs.  Atkinson added seven kills, while Christine Durkee (Salem, Conn.) served off her season-high seven aces.  Callahan tallied another match-high in digs with 23 and sophomore Sophie Fish (North Attleboro, Mass.) dished out 17 helpers in the win.

The Saints are back in action next Saturday, October 18th, when they travel to Lasell College for a GNAC match, set to begin at 11:00 AM.