STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (13-2, 4-0 GNAC) claimed a pair of shutout victories over Albertus Magnus College (8-6, 0-2 GNAC) and University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (7-8, 1-1 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball tri-match at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.
University of Saint Joseph toppled Albertus Magnus, 3-0, in the afternoon's middle match.
Sophomore middle blocker Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) was nearly unstoppable in the GNAC sweep, as the second-year standout tallied 25 kills with only three attack errors to account for an outstanding .595 attack percentage to go with eight total blocks on the day.
The afternoon began with a convincing 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-13) win over Albertus Magnus. The Monks were nearly flawless on the front line with nine errors in 71 attacks and dealt 12 service aces as a team in the victory.
Wachowiak boasted 13 kills and, with a .765 mark, shattered the program's single-match attack percentage rate in the victory. Freshman Victoria Huntley (Ellsworth, Maine) added seven kills and six digs, first-year setter Mariah Hebert (Biddeford, Maine) posted 27 assists, two aces and five digs, senior captain Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) registered 22 digs, and Abbie McPhee (Epping, N.H.) and Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) both dealt four aces in the triumph.
For the Falcons, Melissa Manning (Milford, Conn.) recorded eight kills and Lily Dy (Torrington, Conn.) contributed 15 assists and seven digs in a losing bid.
After several hours off the court, the Monks went back to work in the 6:00 PM game versus the Blue Jays and managed to dispose of their namesake opponent by the same 3-0 margin in just over an hour's time.
Wachowiak again led the charge with 12 kills and five block solos while Hebert notched an assist on 23 of her team's 24 kills against the Blue Jays. Russi boasted 13 digs and three aces, Gosselin added four kills and seven digs and McPhee contributed seven digs to help the Monks record their sixth-consecutive victory.
For the Blue Jays, Ciara Perez (Manchester, Conn.) tallied eight kills and six digs, Emily Vigue (Lebanon, Conn.) posted five kills, three aces and 10 digs, and Megan Williams (Lakeville, Conn.) put up 13 assists and seven digs in a losing effort.
Saint Joseph's returns to the hardwood on Thursday when the Royal Blue plays a single match at Babson College in a 7:30 PM start. The Monks, who played 13 of their first 15 at home, do not play at the Alfond Center again until October 14th.
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 430-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.