STANDISH, ME – Maine Maritime (15-3, 3-1 NAC) defeated Saint Joseph's (13-7, 4-4 GNAC), 3-0, in a non-conference volleyball match at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday night. Kristin Palladino '14 (Exeter, N.H.) registered nine kills and 18 digs in the losing effort.
The Monks jumped out to sizeable leads to begin all three sets, but the Mariners whittled away at the deficit on each occasion to secure the 3-0 sweep by way of 25-22, 28-26 and 28-26 scores.
St. Joe's fell victim to sloppy attacks as the club tallied 27 attack errors – a three-set season-high – and a corresponding .046 attack percentage, a mark that ranks as a season-low.
Despite these figures, the Monks attempted to battle through the adversity and notched three-set season-highs in digs (81) and total attacks (153) in the loss.
For the Monks, Kiah Begley '13 (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) had a match-high 24 assists with 12 digs, Emilee Penman '15 (Uncasville, Conn.) recorded six kills and six digs, Erica Russi '14 (Debary, Fla.) added 19 digs – also a match-best, and Sarah Hawkes '13 (Pownal, Maine) chipped in with 13 digs and four kills in a losing effort.
For the Mariners, Melissa Lail '14 (Elizabeth, Colo.) registered 14 kills, 17 digs and four service aces, Jennifer Dixon '13 (Woodstock, Md.) posted 22 assists, 17 digs and three aces, and Lauren Sakahara '12 (Bellevue, Wash.) added 15 digs. Sydney Robertson '15 (Barnstead, N.H.) netted five solo blocks for the visitors.
Saint Joseph's resumes play this Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match with Anna Maria College (3-16, 0-8 GNAC) at Pine Manor College (12-3, 3-3 GNAC). The Monks face the host Gators at 11:00 AM and take on the AMCATS at 1:00 PM.
Maine Maritime will take on University of Southern Maine and University of New England on Saturday.