WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Saint Joseph's College (7-8, 3-1 GNAC) swept a tri-match at University of Saint Joseph on Saturday, as the Monks opened with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the host-Blue Jays and proceeded to sweep Pratt Institute in the closing match.
Early in the match versus Pratt, sophomore libero Jennelle Thompson (Farmington, N.H.) surpassed the 1,000-dig mark for her career in just her 48th collegiate match. Entering the day requiring 44 digs to become the sixth SJC player to reach the four-digit mark, Thompson tallied 36 in the five-set win over University of Saint Joseph and notched 25 against Pratt to finish the trip with 1,015 career digs.
Thompson joins Erica Russi '14 (1,340 digs), Abbie McPhee '16 (1,281), Sarah Hawkes '13 (1,229), Kiah Begley '13 (1,096), and current teammate Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) (1,171) as a member of the SJC 1,000-Dig Club.
The Monks cruised in the three-set sweep over Pratt Institute with a season-best .297 attack percentage to the tune of 42 kills versus 12 errors in 101 attempts.
Saint Joseph's def. University of Saint Joseph, 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-15, 16-14)
The Monks fell in a 2-0 hole after posting a .050 hitting rate in the first two sets, but proved their mettle with a thrilling comeback victory while hitting .148 – and holding the Blue Jays to a .078 mark - over the final three sets.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
Kills: Jordynne Copp & Victoria Huntley – 14, Shadai Gosselin – 9, Chatham Mills – 7
Assists: Sarah Dyer – 43
Digs: Jennelle Thompson – 36, Dyer & Huntley – 15, Gosselin – 14, Bailey Gryskwicz – 6
Service Aces: Thompson – 6, Copp & Huntley – 2
Total Blocks: Copp – 7, Kelsey Bickford – 5, Mills & Huntley – 2
LEADERS – UNIVERSITY OF SAINT JOSEPH:
Kills: Cassandra Grimaldi – 16, Miah Giarnese – 9, Jasmine Buckley & Shytasia Williams – 8
Assists: Brenna Miller – 42
Digs: Buckley – 21, Miller – 20, Carly Ruzbasan – 19, Demetria Eiger – 14
Service Aces: Ruzbasan – 3, Amber Langlois & Eiger – 2
Total Blocks: Grimaldi – 5, Hannah Lemek & Buckley – 2
TEAM STATS:
SJC USJ
Kills: 50 50
Assists: 46 48
Digs: 92 99
Aces: 11 8
Blocks: 9 7
Saint Joseph's def. Pratt Institute, 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-15)
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
Kills: Huntley – 17, Copp – 9, Bickford – 7, Gosselin - 5
Assists: Emma Tirrell – 28, Dyer – 7
Digs: Thompson – 25, Tirrell – 10, Gosselin & Huntley – 6, Copp - 5
Service Aces: Copp, Gosselin & Huntley - 1
Total Blocks: Copp – 6, Bickford – 4
LEADERS – PRATT INSTITUTE:
Kills: Julia Kubak – 7, Charlotte Burch – 6, Hannah Calderwood & Marlena Todd - 5
Assists: Talya Polat - 21
Digs: Joan Wyeth – 14, Kubak – 8, Patricia Morales – 7, Todd - 5
Service Aces: Burch & Todd - 1
Total Blocks: Burch - 2
TEAM STATS:
SJC Pratt
Kills: 42 25
Assists: 41 25
Digs: 61 41
Aces: 3 2
Blocks: 6 3
With the victories, Saint Joseph's improves to 7-3 all-time versus University of Saint Joseph and is now 1-0 against Pratt Institute.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's travels to Boston on Monday to face off against Simmons College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match slated to begin at 1:00 PM.
#GOMONKS
Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram!
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.