STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (4-0) defeated Husson University (6-2), 3-1 (25-12, 19-25, 25-13, 25-21) to capture the Monks' third consecutive SJC Autumn Invitational Tournament title at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Emilee Penman (Uncasville, Conn.) belted a match-high 15 kills in the tourney title victory over the Eagles.
Saint Joseph's def. Lyndon State, 3-0 (25-7, 25-11, 25-10)
St. Joe's opened the second and final day of the tournament with a convincing three-set victory over Lyndon State College. Kiah Begley '13 (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) set the pace with nine aces in the sweep over the Hornets – the most aces by an SJC player since Mary Hoyt tallied 11 against Albertus Magnus College on October 27th, 2007. Overall, the Monks notched 22 service aces in the team's final match of round-robin play.
Junior middle blocker Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Maine) continued her torrid pace with nine digs, eight kills and a .467 attack percentage against Lyndon State while Penman posted six kills in the shutout win. Begley added a match-high 12 assists to go with five digs and four kills and Erica Russi '14 (Debary, Fla.) chipped in with six digs and three aces for Saint Joseph's.
For Lyndon, Maegan Fried '13 (Great Falls, Mont.) posted six kills and Taylor Young '15 (Lowell, Mass.) contributed nine assists and eight digs in a losing effort.
Husson def. Wentworth Institute, 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18)
The Eagles also began the closing day of the tourney with a win over Wentworth Institute to advance to the championship contest. Hannah Olstad '13 (Farmington, N.H.) led the way with 12 kills and added four digs and a solo block and Kelsey Burrill '14 (Somersworth, N.H.) chipped in with a double-double effort of 11 digs and 10 kills for Husson. Rachel Voicechovski '12 (Westerly, R.I.) registered a match-high 20 digs versus the Leopards.
Championship: Saint Joseph's def. Husson, 3-1 (25-12, 19-25, 25-13, 25-21)
The Monks continued their high level of play in the tournament finale and the efforts yielded an invitational crown for the third straight season. Hawkes put up an impressive double-dip with 23 digs and 11 kills and Begley recorded a double-double of her own with 28 assists and 15 digs to go along with four kills and three service aces. Russi turned in another notable performance with 23 digs, five aces and four kills and Jordan Pelczar '12 (Meredith, N.H.) added 14 digs in the championship contest.
For Husson, Olstad notched 12 kills and six digs, Aleta Johnson '13 (Milton, N.H.) netted 22 assists, 15 digs and three kills, Alex Barner '12 (Woodstock, Conn.) contributed 16 digs, five helpers and three kills, and Burrill and Justine Walicki '15 (Plainville, Conn.) posted 11 digs apiece.
Hawkes garnered SJC Autumn Invitational Tournament Most Valuable Player honors after leading the Monks in kills (46), attack percentage (.282) and total blocks (8) while collecting 56 digs in four tourney matches. Begley – who recorded 96 assists, 47 digs and 14 aces - and Russi joined Hawkes on the All-Tournament Team. Russi broke onto the scene in a big way this weekend with a team-high 65 digs to go with nine aces in four SJC victories.
Consolation: Wentworth def. Lyndon State, 3-0 (25-6, 25-8, 25-5)
All-Tournament Team:
MVP – Sarah Hawkes, Saint Joseph's
Kiah Begley, Saint Joseph's
Erica Russi, Saint Joseph's
Hannah Olstad, Husson
Chelly Smith, Husson
Sam Curran, Wentworth
Maegan Fried, Lyndon State