#25 ENGINEERS ROLL PAST SAINTS, 3-1

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Women's Volleyball team was defeated by nationally-ranked #25 MIT, 3-1 (25-12, 25-14, 17-25, 25-18), on Thursday night at the Jean Yawkey Center Gymnasium in non-conference action. With the victory, the Engineers improve to 19-1 on the year while the loss drops the Saints to 4-11.

The Engineers overpowered the Saints in the early going, jumping out to an 8-2 lead and forcing Emmanuel to call a timeout. The teams traded points in middle of the set, as MIT maintained the six-point edge at 14-8. The visitors would close out the set in style, as two kills each by junior Megan Gebhard (Howell, Mich.) and sophomore Alli Davanzo (St. John's, Fla.) contributed to a 11-4 run, ending the set at 25-12.

The Saints came out of the first break with some fight, taking the first three points beginning with a kill by freshman Mary Shelow (Miami, Fla.). MIT sophomore Lisette Telez (Miami, Fla.) added four kills in a span of nine total points to lift the NEWMAC leaders to a 9-7 lead that they would not relinquish. Freshman Kerrie Greene (Alpharetta, Ga.) added three kills to help the Engineers run away with the set, winning 25-14.

Emmanuel began the third set with an offensive charge, jumping out to a 6-0 advantage, thanks in part to two kills by junior Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.), leading to an MIT timeout. The timeout did not help the cause for MIT, as the Saints continued to ride momentum, extending the lead to 19-8. After a kill by sophomore Rachel Parus (Fraser, Mich.) made it 19-9, the Engineers put together a small rally, cutting the Emmanuel lead to 22-16, but the Saints scored three of the next four points, to win the set 25-17.

The fourth set began much like the third, with the Saints taking the first three points and jumping out to a 9-6 lead. MIT responded with a quick 4-1 run to even the score at 10-10 on a kill by junior Jennie Glerum (Redmond, Wash.). The Engineers took over from that point on, opening up a 19-14 edge and causing Emmanuel head coach Denitra Seals to use a timeout. The Saints scored the first point out of the timeout, but MIT showed a finishing touch and was able to close out the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.

Tellez had a game-high 13 kills and hit .344 for the match. Freshman Fiona Tanuwidjaja tallied 40 assists and junior Tori Wuthrich (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) had 23 digs for the Engineers.

The Saints were led by Shelow with seven kills and senior captain Brittany Tutalo (Johnston, R.I.) with six kills. Junior Sarah Schemerhorn (Los Angeles, Calif.) added 12 digs in the loss.

Emmanuel honored senior captain Shannon Dudley (Morro Bay, Calif.) with a commemorative game ball to recognize her 2,000^th career assist, which she accumulated in the previous match at Framingham State University. She added 20 assists in the match, to run her career total to 2,040.

The Saints return to action on Saturday, October 10 when they host a Great Northeast Conference tri-match at the Jean Yawkey Center. Emmanuel will take on Anna Maria at 10 a.m. and Lasell at 2 p.m. The EC Superfans will be hosting a breakfast tailgate in the second floor of the JYC beginning at 9 a.m. before the match. MIT will host Mount Ida on Tuesday, October 13 as the Engineers search for their 20^th win of the season.