STANDISH, Maine – #6 Saint Joseph's College (12-12, 6-5 GNAC) will play at #3 Anna Maria College (20-10, 8-3 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament Quarterfinal match tonight at 7:00 PM.

BRACKETOLOGY:

Tuesday, November 1 - Quarterfinals

Match 1: #8 Suffolk at #1 Johnson & Wales - 7:00 PM

Match 2: #5 Lasell at #4 Simmons - 7:00 PM

Match 3: #6 Saint Joseph's at #3 Anna Maria - 7:00 PM

Match 4: #7 Emmanuel at #2 Rivier - 7:00 PM

Thursday, November 3 - Semifinals

Match 5: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner

Match 6: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner

Saturday, November 5- Championship

Match 7: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner (GNAC Champion earns automatic berth into NCAA DIII Tournament, which begins on November 11th)

SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Saint Joseph's:

• A strong defensive team, the Monks rank as the GNAC leader in digs per set (19.83) and are fourth in digs (1785) and block assists (120), and fifth in block solos (62) and blocks per set (1.36)
• Saint Joseph's is 9-4 during the month of October and has posted nearly double the hitting percentage (.129 vs. .066) in 13 October matches versus 11 September contests
• Statistically, the Monks have actually played slightly better on the road this season with better numbers in kills per set (9.94), hitting percentage (.122), assists per set (9.34), and blocks per set (1.40) in matches played away from the Harold Alfond Center
• The Monks lost seven players from last year's remarkable 27-6 squad, including Offensive Player of the Year Felicia Wachowiak '16 and All-Conference setter Mariah Hebert – and despite having just nine players on the roster, have proven to be a difficult team to beat, as evidenced by the team's 4-2 record in five-set matches, this fall

Anna Maria:

• The AMCATS have emerged as one of the top offensive teams in the GNAC and rank first in service aces (241), third in kills (1127), hitting percentage (.209), assists (1061), and points (1456), and fourth in kills per set (10.84), total attacks (3390), assists per set (10.20), and service aces per set (2.32)
• Anna Maria has won seven consecutive matches, all by the same 3-0 score, as the AMCATS' last loss was a 3-1 setback at the hands of Coast Guard on October 15th

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Saint Joseph's:

• Senior outside hitter Victoria Huntley (Ellsworth, Maine) leads the Monks in kills (235) and ranks second in aces (37) and third in digs (277) and recently became the seventh SJC player to reach the 1,000-Dig plateau
• Senior outside hitter Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) paces Saint Joseph's in aces (40) and ranks second on the squad in kills (185) and digs (310)
• Sophomore libero Jennelle Thompson (Farmington, N.H.) leads the conference in digs (615) and digs per set (6.99) and ranks second nationally in the latter category
• Junior middle blocker Jordynne Copp (Cumberland, Maine) is the Monks' leader in blocks (31 solo, 71 overall) and ranks third on the team in kills (161) with a team-high .241 hitting percentage – she is third in the GNAC in block solos and blocks per set (0.77)

Anna Maria:

• Sophomore Amari King (Lawrence, Mass.) leads the best 1-2 offensive punch in the conference with GNAC highs in kills (485), kills per set (4.66), total attacks (1295), and points (548.5) – she also ranks seventh in the league in hitting percentage (.269)
• Junior Rebecca Foti (Bedford, N.H.) completes the formidable duo and is second in the GNAC in kills (428), kills per set (4.12), total attacks (1227), and service aces (54)
• Freshman setter Tierney Clancy (Meriden, Conn.) leads the conference in service aces (59) and is third in the GNAC in assists (931) and assists per set (9.13)

ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP:

First-year Head Coach Alexis Michal has done an outstanding job in leading the Monks to a .500 record and a sixth-place finish in the conference. Just one year removed from serving as a four-year starter for Keene State College, Coach Michal has infused her young team with a passion for the sport and a defensive mindset that has given opponents fits all season, particularly in the last month.

Head Coach Britta Ashman, in her first year at Anna Maria, has led the AMCATS to a historic season thus far as her team established new program records for both overall victories and conference wins and secured a home-court seed in the GNAC Tournament for the first time in program history.

THE LAST TIME WE MET:

Anna Maria blanked the Monks, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-22) in Paxton, Massachusetts on October 22nd in a match that featured 22 tie scores and 10 lead changes. Gosselin posted a double-double (10 kills, 13 digs) while Huntley added nine kills and 16 digs, sophomore setter Sarah Dyer (Seabrook, N.H.) boasted 33 assists and 10 digs, and Thompson added a match-high 34 digs.

King essentially proved to be the difference in the GNAC match by posting 22 kills in 67 attempts with 27 digs in the victory. Foti added 16 kills and 11 digs while Clancy tallied 37 assists and 16 digs against the Monks.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

The Monks are 8-1 in the history of the series with the AMCATS as the October 22nd meeting marked the first-ever loss at the hands of Anna Maria.

POSTSEASON HISTORY:

Saint Joseph's has now advanced to GNAC postseason play for the sixth time in 10 seasons as a member of the conference. The Monks posted their first GNAC Tournament victory, a 3-2 quarterfinal triumph over #6 Simmons College, as the #3 seed in the 2015 tourney.

The AMCATS have qualified for the GNAC Tournament for the third-consecutive season and will be hosting a first-round postseason match for the first time in program history. Anna Maria finished as the #5 seed last fall and the #7 seed in 2014 and suffered 3-0 losses to #4 Emmanuel and #2 Rivier, respectively.

Last fall, the AMCATS earned a berth into the ECAC New England Tournament for the first time in team history and fell to Endicott College by a 3-0 score in a semifinal match. 

The Monks and AMCATS have never before met in postseason play.

#GOMONKS

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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.