STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (5-13) defeated New England College in four competitive sets (25-22, 26-24, 25-27, 27-25) in a non-conference women's volleyball match at the Harold Alfond Center on Tuesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks opened the evening with a 25-22 set victory and withstood a late surge by the Pilgrims to notch a 26-24 second-set triumph and 2-0 match advantage.
Facing a shutout setback, New England opened up a 12-6 lead in the third frame only to see the hosts surge back with a 7-1 run and tie the set at 13 apiece. St. Joe's later held a 22-18 lead, but NEC responded with a 7-2 outburst and put the Royal Blue away with a Jaycie Kodama (Pauoa Valley, Hawaii) service ace.
In the fourth set, the Monks took advantage of four consecutive attack errors to claim a 4-0 lead and went on to own an 18-12 advantage after sophomore Olivia Kent (Ellington, Conn.) posted a solo block. The seesaw play continued, as the Pilgrims proceeded to go on a 10-4 run and knot the set at 22-22. Several minutes later the fourth frame was mired in a 25-25 stalemate, but senior Kelsey Bickford (Somersworth, N.H.) rejected a Tihani Ehia (Kaneohe, Hawaii) attempt to put her team ahead and a bad set followed to propel the Monks to the hard fought 3-1 win.
NOTEWORTHY:
Tonight's match featured 33 tie scores – including 12 in the third set alone - and 14 lead changes.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Junior Erin Olson (Stoughton, Mass.) delivered a match-high 14 kills with six total blocks
- Sophomore Sarah Quinn (Dover, N.H.) posted 11 kills and 13 digs
- Bickford produced 10 kills, 10 digs, and four total blocks
- Freshman Hanna Holden (Stoughton, Mass.) dealt 25 assists with five digs
- Junior Madison Provencher (Rochester, N.H.) added 16 digs
LEADERS – NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE:
- Ehia contributed 10 kills, 12 digs and a pair of aces
- Shirita Wimberly (Waipahu, Hawaii) posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs
- Dreka Griffin (Calera, Ala.) added 10 kills, six digs, and four total blocks
- Maggie Dadmun (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) chipped in with 24 assists and two aces
- Kodama posted a team-high 15 digs
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's is now 1-1 all-time versus New England College. The Pilgrims shut out the Monks, 3-0, in Henniker last fall.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host University of New England on Thursday at 6:00 PM.