STANDISH, ME – Trailing 2-0, Saint Joseph's (13-5, 4-3 GNAC) rallied with three consecutive victories to tip Mount Ida College (7-11, 4-3 GNAC), 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-12, 25-23, 15-11), in a GNAC women's volleyball match at the Harold Alfond Center on Monday afternoon.
With their backs against the wall after dropping the first two sets by identical 25-23 scores, the Monks remained alive with a 25-12 rout in the third set, gaining momentum that would linger for the duration of the match.
Mount Ida, which entered the day on a five-game winning streak, would not go down easily however, as the visitors raced out to a 9-4 lead in the fourth set with the help of kills from Shay Collins (Londonderry, N.H.), Julie Smith (Richmond, R.I.) and Trudy Goetchius (North Andover, Mass.). With the day's result hanging in the balance, SJC Head Coach Yamile Nolan called a timeout and her team responded by taking a 17-16 lead a short time later.
The Mustangs fought back and held a 23-19 edge after Goetchius belted a kill, but St. Joe's answered with six unanswered points, a run that included three Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) kills to close out the set and knot the match at 2-2.
Buoyed by a 5-0 start, St. Joe's never trailed in the deciding set. The Royal Blue utilized four Wachowiak kills to earn a 15-11 victory and a 3-2 triumph in what many would consider to be one of the most exciting SJC volleyball matches in recent memory.
Wachowiak paced the Monks with 16 kills to go with a spectacular .419 hitting percentage and three block assists while senior Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Maine) tallied 15 kills and 32 digs on the afternoon. Senior setter Kiah Begley (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) notched a match-high 45 assists along with 11 digs, six kills and three aces, Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) produced 26 digs, and Alli Hollander (Thermal, Calif.) chipped in with seven kills and 13 digs. Holly Bannister (Cumberland, Maine) added seven kills and a pair of block assists and Emilee Penman (Uncasville, Conn.) contributed four kills and five total blocks in the victory.
For the Mustangs, Goetchius registered 22 kills and 12 digs, Jennifer Ferreira (Shirley, Mass.) posted 20 kills and 16 digs, Smith accumulated 43 assists and 14 digs, and Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) added 23 digs in a losing bid.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 2-5 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College and has now defeated the Mustangs in back to back meetings. For the Monks, today's five-set triumph is the first in four tries this season.
Saint Joseph's will host Husson University in the Monks' annual Dig Pink event on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM. Mount Ida plays at Wheaton College on Thursday at 7:00 PM.
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
