STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (8-3, 1-1 GNAC) suffered a 3-0 setback at the hands of Rivier University (9-3, 2-0 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) volleyball match at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) registered 10 kills and a .588 attack percentage in the losing effort.
In the first set, the Monks dug themselves a 10-3 hole but managed to cut their deficit to two points, 12-10, minutes later. St. Joe's would challenge the defending GNAC champions late in the set, only to see the Raiders take three of the final four points en route to claiming a 1-0 advantage.
Rivier would not trail in the second set, but the Monks would threaten and were short just two points – 14-12 – after sophomore Emilee Penman (Uncasville, Conn.) notched kills on back to back plays. St. Joe's would get no closer however, as the visiting Raiders proceeded to rattle off an 11-3 run for the remainder of the set and held a 2-0 lead heading into the third frame.
The conference rivals traded blows in what turned out to be the final set, as the third stanza featured five lead changes and 12 tie scores. Neither team held a lead of more than two points until the hosts took advantage of an attack error to secure a 13-10 cushion midway through the deciding set. Leading 21-18 after kills by Wachowiak and Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Maine), Saint Joseph's seemed poised to force at least a fourth set, but the Raiders racked up four unanswered points, including a pair of Kenna Finlayson (Derry, N.H.) aces, to take a 22-12 advantage.
The Monks earned the next two points as an Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) service ace pushed the Royal Blue to a 23-22 edge, but the Raiders tallied four of the set's final five points to collect the 26-24 win and 3-0 match victory.
For Saint Joseph's, Hawkes registered eight kills and nine digs, Russi boasted a match-high 20 digs, Kiah Begley (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) added 23 assists and eight digs, and Alli Hollander (Thermal, Calif.) chipped in with five kills and 11 digs.
For Rivier, Finlayson tallied 13 kills, 18 digs and four aces, Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, Calif.) notched 34 assists and seven digs, Nicole Peacock (Warwick, R.I.) added 11 kills, and Lyndsey Sweeney (Coventry, R.I.) chimed in with 10 digs.
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 4-12 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has now dropped 12 straight matches at the hands of the Raiders dating back to the 2001 campaign.
St. Joe's will play at Daniel Webster College on Tuesday at 7:30 PM, while Rivier faces Colby-Sawyer on the road on Thursday at 7:00 PM.
Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.
