WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – University of Saint Joseph junior Tiffany Mapusaga (Waianae, Haw.) had a career-high 29 kills as the Blue Jays outlasted St. Joseph's College of Maine Saturday in a marathon GNAC match at USJ.
Scores by set were 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-12. In all, 209 points were played with the Blue Jays winning 106 and the match lasted two hours, 20 minutes.
USJ improved to 9-2 overall and remained in first place in the GNAC at 5-0. SJC is 5-11 and 2-3.
Mapusaga had 29 kills against 14 hitting errors on an amazing 85 attacks and added 19 digs and five aces. Emily Vigue had eight kills and 18 digs for USJ, Elizabeth Tuazon (Mystic, Conn,) had seven kills and a match-high 24 digs and Cassandra Grimaldi (Manchester, Conn.) also had seven kills.
For St. Joseph's of Maine, Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) had a team-high 13 kills and six blocks and Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N,H.) had seven put-aways and 16 digs. Abbie McPhee (Epping, N.H.) had a team-high 23 digs for the Monks and Sam Wright (Westport, Mass.) had 20.
Mapusaga had five kills in the opening game and Vigue three to help USJ to a 1-0 lead but Wachowiak had five kills and five blocks for the Monks in the second. Mapusaga had eight kills in the third set to again put USJ by a set, but SJC got a balanced effort in the fourth to extend the match.
In the fifth, USJ did not trail until Wachowiak had a block to put the Monks up 11-10 and a kill from her put SJC ahead 12-10. But the Blue Jays scored the next five points to close out the match. Mapusaga had two kills in the final run and Vigue had an ace on match point.
Vigue figured heavily in the clinching point of all three sets won by the Blue Jays with a block to end the first set, a kill to end the third and an ace of the final point of the day. Megan Williams had a match-high 46 assists for the Blue Jays and added four blocks. Roselande Muscade (Waltham, Mass.) chipped in with 15 digs for USJ and Justine Walicki (Plainville, Conn.) had 14.
USJ plays at Curry, Tuesday, Oct. 7, in a non-conference match at 7 p.m. The Monks host University of New England at 6:30 PM on Tuesday.
COURTESY OF USJ SPORTS INFORMATION
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 430-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.
