STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (3-0) rallied from a 1-0 set deficit to defeat Colby College (0-1), 3-1 (22-25, 29-27, 25-9, 25-18), in non-conference women's volleyball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night. Senior middle blocker Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) totaled 13 kills and broke her own single-game total blocks record with 13, including nine solo, in the triumph.
The Mules, playing in their 2015 season-opener, started the night with a hard fought 25-22 victory in the opening set, but the Monks gained all the momentum with an exciting 29-27 win in the second set and proceeded to claim the four-set triumph with large-margin wins in the third and fourth frames.
For Saint Joseph's, sophomore Jordynne Copp (Cumberland, Maine) recorded seven kills and three block solos, junior Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) tallied five kills and 19 digs, junior Mariah Hebert (Biddeford, Maine) posted a double-double with 22 assists and 12 digs, senior Abbie McPhee (Epping, N.H.) added 18 digs, and freshman Jennelle Thompson (Farmington, N.H.) contributed 16 digs in the victory.
For Colby, Sarah Arvidson (Andover, Mass.) registered five kills, three aces and 16 digs, Karolina Serhan (Needham, Mass.) totaled five kills and six digs, Natalie Roy (Los Altos, Calif.) boasted a match-high 20 digs, and Emily Moslener (Leonardtown, Md.) contributed 12 assists and 10 digs in the setback.
Colby started off well and held a 14-7 lead midway through the first before Saint Joseph's notched an 11-3 run, capped by a Gosselin service ace, which resulted in the hosts claiming an 18-17 edge.
Neither team seemed able to pull away until the Monks committed a series of unforced errors, allowing the Mules to win the first set and grab a 1-0 lead.
Saint Joseph's quickly fell in the hole in the second set, as an SJC error and a pair of Arvidson aces lifted the visitors to an early 3-0 cushion. St. Joe's responded with five unanswered points and maintained the lead until Colby knotted the game at 13-13 after Wachowiak committed a rare attack error.
A seesaw battle ensued, as the in-state rivals essentially traded points until the end as the Monks received a kill from Copp and clinched the second set on an attack error.
St. Joe's ran away with the third set, 25-9, with the help of 13 Colby attack errors and a solid .235 attack rate en route to claiming a 2-1 set advantage.
The teams played close for the better part of the fourth stanza, but the hosts managed to pull away with a 10-1 run, a span during which the Mules committed six miscues while Wachowiak totaled three kills and senior Sam Wright (Westport, Mass.) added a pair of aces to clinch the victory.
The Monks return to action with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match with games versus Norwich University (12:00 PM) and Suffolk University (4:00 PM) on Saturday. The Mules also play in a tri-match Saturday with non-conference matches versus Wellesley and Brandeis in Waltham, Massachusetts.
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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 474-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.
