STANDISH, ME – Bates College (3-1) bested Saint Joseph's College (5-1), 3-1, in the 2012 SJC Invitational Championship match at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. The loss snaps the Monks' string of three consecutive SJC Invitational titles.

The day began with the last two matches of the round-robin format, as St. Joe's and Lyndon State faced off on Court 1 while Bates College and Husson University went toe to toe on Court 2.

St. Joe's def. Lyndon State, 3-0 (25-14, 25-8, 25-10)

The Monks made short work of the Hornets in Saturday's first match as the convincing 3-0 triumph required just one hour to accomplish. Senior Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Maine) belted a game-high eight kills and added eight digs while freshman phenom Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) added six kills on 10 attempts in the victory. Another first-year player, Abbie McPhee (Epping, N.H.), showed prowess on the back line with seven service aces versus the Hornets.

Sophomore Emilee Penman (Uncasville, Conn.) contributed five kills and eight digs while senior setter Kiah Begley (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) tallied 15 assists and seven digs and junior Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) chipped in with eight digs on the morning.

For Lyndon State, Taylor Young (Lowell, Mass.) and Jessica Walsh (North Kingstown, R.I.) registered two kills apiece while Laura Drake (Hinsdale, Mass.) posted seven digs and three assists against the tourney hosts. Joy Piper (Belmont, N.H.) and Liz Mainville (North Smithfield, R.I.) chimed in with five digs each in a losing effort.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's owns a 7-1 record versus Lyndon State College since the beginning of the 2006 campaign. The Monks have defeated the Hornets in five consecutive meetings.

Bates def. Husson, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-13)

The match on Court 2 ended just after the Court 1 contest as Bates managed to tip Husson in just over an hour to advance to the tourney championship. Senior middle blocker Eliza Pyne (Atherton, Calif.) and freshman outside hitter Kelsey Berry (Hollis, N.H.) registered nine kills apiece in the triumph while sophomore setter Tess Walther (Santa Monica, Calif.) dealt 33 assists against the Eagles.

Also playing well for in the win for Bates was Nicole Russell (Boca Raton, Fla.), who added a match-high 16 digs, and Laryssa Schepel (Flemington, N.J.), who chipped in with 12 digs and five aces in the one-sided victory.

For Husson, sophomore middle blocker Alexandra deHertogh (Cumberland, R.I.) was a force at the net with an amazing 13 solo blocks while senior middle blocker Hannah Olstad (Farmington, N.H.) nearly matched her teammate's effort with 10 blocks while punching a team-best six kills in the setback.

Senior setter Aleta Johnson (Milton, N.H.) tallied 13 assists in a losing bid for the Eagles.

Championship - Bates def. St. Joe's, 3-1 (20-25, 26-24, 25-15, 26-24)

Bates, which won the first set but dropped three straight to Saint Joseph's in the tourney-opener on Friday evening, truly flipped the script on the Monks in the SJC Invitaional Championship match nearly 18 hours later. Trailing 1-0 after falling to the Royal Blue by a 25-20 margin in the opening set, the Bobcats went on to win three consecutive matches, including two that required extra play, en route to de-throning the Monks in their own invitational tourney for the first time in three years.

Serving proved to be one of the deciding factors in the title loss, as the Monks tallied just five aces while the Bobcats belted 18 strikes against the tournament hosts. Pyne paced the visitors with six service aces while Schepel notched four markers to help Bates establish serving dominance.

For the Monks, it was Hawkes who led the offensive attack yet again as the senior tri-captain registered 10 kills with just one miscue in 35 bids with 23 digs and four total blocks in a losing effort. Wachowiak put forth another impressive performance with nine kills while Begley notched 24 assists and 13 digs and Russi posted 20 digs on the afternoon.

For the Bobcats, Berry slammed home a tournament-best 15 kills with 10 digs while Pyne accumulated 11 kills, six aces and seven digs and freshman outside hitter Abby Leberman (Concord, N.H.) added 10 kills in the title tilt. Russell tallied 35 digs and Walther produced 35 assists versus the Monks.

The championship loss signals the end of a three-year SJC Invitational reign for Saint Joseph's and also closed out a 15-match home-tournament winning streak for the Royal Blue. Prior to this afternoon, the Monks had not suffered a loss in the team's annual tourney since falling to Green Mountain College in the 2008 championship match.

Consolation - Husson def. Lyndon State, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-16)

With 10 kills and eight solo blocks, Olstad led Husson to a shutout win in the SJC Invitational consolation match versus Lyndon State to help the Eagles improve to 3-4 on the young season. deHertogh was again impressive up front with six blocks and five kills, Johnson contributed 14 helpers, and Kelsey Burrill (Somersworth, N.H.) added six service aces in the convincing victory.

For the Hornets, Young and Morgan Diltz (Moultonboro, Mass.) recorded four kills apiece, Drake posted eight assists, four digs and three aces, and Erica Ponte (Westport, Mass.) chipped in with three kills and a pair of digs.

All-Tournament Team:

Nicole Russell, Bates - MVP
Eliza Pyne, Bates
Kelsey Bery, Bates
Sarah Hawkes, St. Joe's
Erica Russi, St. Joe's
Hannah Olstad, Husson
Joy Piper, Lyndon State