STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (5-1) captured the 2013 SJC Autumn Invitational Tournament Championship with a 3-1 victory over Bates College (3-1) at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday.
With the win, the Monks avenged an earlier tourney loss at the hands of the Bobcats, who entered the title bout undefeated with a 3-0 mark during the two-day invitational. Saint Joseph's also reclaims the program's own tournament crown after falling to Bates by the same 3-1 score in last fall's SJC Autumn Invitational Championship.
Saint Joseph's sophomore Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) was selected as the Tournament Most Valuable Player after leading all tourney participants with 44 kills and 14 solo blocks while posting the third-highest attack percentage (.230) during the Monks' four matches. Senior libero Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.), who tallied 51 digs and 11 service aces, and freshman setter Mariah Hebert (Biddeford, Maine), who eclipsed the tourney's assists list with 105 over four games and also notched 10 aces, both claimed All-Tournament honors for the Royal Blue.
Also claiming All-Tourney accolades were Laryssa Schepel (Flemington, N.J.) and Chandler McGrath (Seal Beach, Calif.) of Bates College, Husson University's Lindsay Chapman (Gorham, Maine) and Morgan Diltz (Moultonboro, N.H.) from Lyndon State College.
Championship: Saint Joseph's def. Bates College, 3-2 (18-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-18) (BOX)
The outlook was bleak for the tournament host in the early going, as the Bobcats dominated in the opening set to the tune of a convincing 25-18 set-one victory. The Monks fared better in the second set with some help from their opponents, as Bates made three unforced errors late and sealed a spirit-lifting 28-26 triumph when sophomore Sam Wright (Westport, Mass.) delivered a service ace to close out the set.
Uneven play continued for the Bobcats early in the third set as the visitors committed six total errors, three aided by Wachowiak solo rejections, prompting Bates Head Coach Margo Linton to call a timeout. The effort improved following the short discussion, but the Bobcats could not overcome a negative-.114 attack rate, proof of the 12 errors committed at the net, and would fall 25-21 in the set and faced a 2-1 deficit on the scoreboard.
Saint Joseph's proved to be up to the challenge in what wound up as the deciding set, a 25-18 triumph allowing the hosts to hoist the SJC Autumn Invitational plaque after a one-year hiatus from the championship circle. Clinging to a 19-18 edge late in the fourth set, the Monks managed to rattle off six unanswered points, all with heavy-handed freshman Victoria Huntley (Ellsworth, Maine), who belted an ace for the 24th point, at the service line, to take the victory. Freshman Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) closed out the tournament with a kill off a Hebert set.
For the Monks, Wachowiak produced eight kills and seven block solos, Huntley tallied seven kills and 13 digs, Gosselin added six kills, three assists and 13 digs, and Hebert tallied 23 assists and eight digs.
Mary Deneen (Windsor, Conn.) paced the Bobcats with eight kills while McGrath, Nicole Peraica (East Northport, N.Y.) and Brynn Wendel (Boxbord, Mass.) posted six kills apiece in a losing effort. Schepel added five aces and 33 digs and Tess Walther (Santa Monica, Calif.) contributed 17 assists, five aces and eight digs in the title match.
Consolation: Husson University def. Lyndon State College, 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-7) (BOX)
The tournament consolation contest proved to be very interesting, as Lyndon State – which entered the match with one set-victory in 10 attempts – came to life in the tourney's closing time slot. In the end, the Hornets' attack error total (27) proved to be too much to overcome, as the Eagles took advantage of seven Lyndon miscues in the deciding set en route to a 15-7 victory and 3-2 consolation match win.
For the Eagles, Casey Lopes (New Bedford, Mass.) put up 11 kills, three service aces and 17 digs, Chapman contributed 10 kills, three aces, 19 digs and eight total blocks, Emma Plouffe (Frankfort, N.Y.) added 10 kills and Ryan Hood (Princeton, Maine) tallied 31 assists and 13 digs.
For the Hornets, Kelleigh Murtagh (Merrimack, N.H.) boasted eight kills and nine digs, Diltz contributed seven kills, three aces and seven digs, Abbey Greene (Exeter, R.I.) tallied five kills and 14 digs, and Gweneth Stahl (Whitinsville, Mass.) chipped in with 16 assists, five kills and six digs. Laura Drake (Hinsdale, Mass.) also played well and delivered eight aces, 10 assists, 10 digs and three kills in the hard-fought loss.
Shutouts were in fashion in the 10:00 AM matches, as Saint Joseph's blanked Lyndon State, 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-18) and Bates bested Husson, 3-0 (25-7, 25-17, 25-11) on the adjacent court.
Wachowiak led the Royal Blue with 12 kills while Hebert dished out 28 assists and Russi tallied 17 digs and four aces in the shutout win over the Hornets. Murtagh paced Lyndon with four kills and Diltz added three kills and seven digs in the loss.
For the Bobcats, Deneen produced 10 kills and McGrath added eight kills with four solo blocks versus the Eagles. Chapman and Kristen Atwood (Cumberland, Maine) recorded three kills apiece in the losing effort for Husson.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
