FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (8-14) rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Framingham State University (15-11), 3-2 (17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 15-9) in a non-conference women's volleyball match on Thursday evening.
THE LEAD
Junior Kelsey Bickford (Somersworth, N.H.) tallied 16 kills and 17 digs and sophomore Erin Olson (Stoughton, Mass.) notched 11 kills and seven total blocks to help the Monks register their second five-set triumph of the season.
THE REST OF THE STORY
Trailing 2-0, the Monks came to life with a .321 hitting percentage (12 kills, three errors in 28 attempts) in the third set and posted a .292 attack rate in the final three sets combined en route to earning the exciting victory.
Facing defeat, Saint Joseph's opened up a 13-6 lead in the third set, but the Rams managed to cut their deficit to 21-20 with a late 5-1 surge. The Monks responded with four unanswered points, all off Framingham State attack errors, to make it a 2-1 match.
In a closely contested fourth set, neither team held a lead greater than two points until sophomore Sophia Randall (Epping, N.H.) belted consecutive service aces to stake the Monks to a 15-12 cushion. The Rams later rallied and held a 21-19 edge before St. Joe's received three aces from sophomore Madison Provencher (Rochester, N.H.) during a 6-2 run that saw the visitors even the match at two apiece.
In the deciding set, the Rams jumped out to an 8-5 lead but the Monks again utilized the serve to surge past the hosts, as Randall boasted three aces during a 6-0 run to lift her team to an 11-8 advantage. Framingham State interrupted the outburst with a Deirdre Fay kill, but Saint Joseph's closed out the set – and match – with four consecutive kills, including two from freshman Sarah Quinn (Dover, N.H.).
TEAM STATS
Framingham State held the lead in kills (57-49), assists (55-45), aces (16-12), and digs (94-78) while Saint Joseph's boasted an 8-1 blocks advantage on the evening. In the end, the Monks' attack percentage (.204) proved to be much more efficient than the Rams' effort (.136) as the hosts committed 33 errors at the net in the loss.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Bickford notched 16 kills and 17 digs
- Olson tallied 11 kills with a .333 hitting percentage and seven total blocks (5 solos)
- Senior Jennelle Thompson (Rochester, N.H.) recorded 19 digs
- Randall tallied 22 assists, six aces, and 12 digs
- Senior Sarah Dyer (Seabrook, N.H.) added five kills, 17 assists, and 14 digs
- Quinn chipped in with seven kills
LEADERS – FRAMINGHAM STATE:
- Brandee Thomas delivered a match-high 22 kills with a .429 attack percentage
- Brandey Rodriguez added 14 kills
- Mackenzie Whalen totaled 50 assists and 16 digs
- Alyssa Cafarelli picked up a match-high 31 digs
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Rivier University (1:30 PM) and Albertus Magnus College (5:30 PM) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match on Saturday.
