SAINTS STORM INTO SEMIFINALS WITH SWEEP OF ANNA MARIA

BOSTON, Mass. - The No. 4 Emmanuel College women's volleyball team swept the No. 5 Anna Maria College AMCATS, 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-21), in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) volleyball tournament on Tuesday evening at the Emmanuel College Gymnasium.

The Saints improve to 12-15 overall and advance to take on top-seeded Rivier on Thursday in the semifinals, while the AMCATS season comes to an end with a 17-15 overall record.

Emmanuel took advantage of Anna Maria's .035 hitting percentage en route to winning both sets by double digits. The Saints tallied 24 kills in the first two sets, while making just six errors. 

Anna Maria battled back in the third set, taking a 9-6 lead, but the Saints took control for good at 15-14 on a kill by freshman Mary Shelow (Miami, Fla.). The lead would be extended to 18-14 thanks in part to two service aces from junior Cassie Chruscielski (Duluth, Minn.).

The AMCATS got the score back to 21-21, but they would not score another point, as the Saints strung together four points to end the set and the match.

The Saints posted a hitting percentage of .205, tallying 36 kills and just 13 errors in the match. Chruscielski and senior captain Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) shared the team lead with seven kills, while senior captain Brittany Tutalo (Johnston, R.I.) chipped in with five kills and three aces. Rose earned the 500th kill of her career in the second set of the match.

Senior captain Shannon Dudley (Morro Bay, Calif.) dished out 31 assists and recorded 11 digs. Freshman Katharine Journeay (Hampton, N.H.) also finished with 11 digs for the hosts. 

Senior Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) led the AMCATS with 21 assists and also added 11 digs. Freshman Amari King (Lawrence, Mass.) tallied 12 kills and 13 digs for the visitors.

As a team, the AMCATS totaled 25 errors and 29 kills for a .035 hitting percentage.

The Saints advance to the GNAC semifinals where they will face unbeaten Rivier on Thursday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m.