STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (16-7, 5-1 GNAC) dropped a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-14) decision to University of New England (12-7, 3-1 CCC) in a non-conference women's volleyball match at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday night.
One of the largest crowds of the 2013 campaign attended tonight's match in support of the Monks and the "Dig Pink" initiative, a national event held during Breast Cancer Awareness month by middle school, high school, and collegiate teams across the nation to help increase awareness and raise funds in support of breast cancer research. All proceeds from the gate as well as donations collected during the match will go to the Side-Out Foundation, which sponsors the national fundraiser annually.
In the opening set, the Monks nearly matched the Nor'easters point for point and the first game stood at a 19-all tie before the visitors put up five unanswered tallies. Leading 24-19, UNE committed three unforced errors to let St. Joe's back into the set. Visiting Head Coach Karol L'Heureux attempted to settle her troops with a timeout and the effort seemed to pay off, as freshman Erika Sawicki (Windham, N.H.) put the set away with a kill on the very next play.
The Nor'easters raced out to a 7-1 lead in the second set, but the Monks responded by scoring 10 of the next 15 points to cut their deficit down to 12-11. UNE mustered six straight points to secure an 18-11 cushion and led 22-16 minutes later after a Grayson Szczepaniak (Lakewood, Ohio) kill, but Saint Joseph's answered again with a string of five points, including a pair of Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) service aces, to make it a 22-21 score. Unfortunately for the hosts, the Nor'easters managed to claim the second stanza and a 2-0 lead with the help of three straight points.
Assisted by a 7-0 start, University of New England proceeded to run away with the third set to the tune of a 25-14 score en route to posting the 3-0 shutout victory. The loss counts as the Monks' second home setback of the season and first since dropping a 3-2 match to Bates College on September 6th.
For the Monks, sophomore middle blocker Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) boasted a match-high 12 kills with a .375 attack percentage, freshman Victoria Huntley (Ellsworth, Maine) tallied six kills and eight digs, freshman setter Mariah Hebert (Biddeford, Maine) added 23 assists and senior libero Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) produced 16 digs.
For the Nor'easters, Angie Brunette (North Andover, Mass.) recorded 11 kills, Szczepaniak registered seven kills and three service aces, Maria Kuehl (Middleton, N.H.) added 26 assists, four kills, three aces and six digs, and Kirsta Adie (Tyngsboro, Mass.) contributed 12 digs.
Prior to the start of the match, a brief ceremony was held to honor the Monks' two seniors: Russi and Holly Bannister (Cumberland, Maine). Both four-year players, the duo has helped the program post a 74-41 (.644) record and three Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament appearances during their time on the court. Currently, the four-year (2010-13) win total ranks as the third-most in program history and the collective winning percentage is the highest since the 1991 graduating class notched a .656 (80-42) mark over four seasons.
Seven matches remain on the 2013 SJC volleyball docket, including a pair of tilts this Saturday, when Saint Joseph's travels to Norwich University to face Emmanuel College (2:00 PM) and the host-Cadets (4:00 PM) in a GNAC tri-match.
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.