GORHAM, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (1-0) opened the 2022 season with a hard-fought 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 23-25, 16-14) victory over University of Southern Maine (0-1) in non-conference women's volleyball action on Thursday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks trailed early in the opening set but posted a pair of scoring runs to claim a 1-0 lead, as the visitors negated a 7-4 disadvantage with six straight points and later notched a 7-0 burst en route to the 25-20 first set triumph.
Southern Maine led for most of the second set and mounted a 17-10 cushion after Isabella Smith registered a kill. Saint Joseph's rallied with six unanswered points, but ultimately suffered a 25-22 setback, tying the match at 1-1.
The third frame swung in the Monks' favor to the tune of a 25-17 set score, as freshman Regan Noonan (Standish, Maine) notched a kill and senior Hanna Holden (Stoughton, Mass.) slammed an ace to account for the visitors' last two points in the decisive victory.
With their backs against the wall and trailing 21-18 late in the fourth set the Huskies fought back with five points in a row and, even though the Monks closed the gap to 24-23, a kill from Madison Zimmer forced the match into a fifth set.
In the fifth set, the Huskies jumped out to a 5-2 advantage but saw the lead evaporate as the Monks netted six of the following seven points to claim an 8-6 lead. With the scored tied 14-14, senior Catherine Balzano (Portland, Maine) slammed home consecutive kills to lift her team to a thrilling victory.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Sophomore Maggie Sylvester (Barrington, N.H.) paced the Monks with nine kills and added three aces, four assists, and 13 digs
- Freshman Nadia Sixto (Chattanooga, Tenn.) led the Royal Blue with 14 total points after boasting seven kills, six service aces, and a solo block
- Balzano added eight kills and a pair of aces
- Sophomore Hanna Webster (Alvin, Texas) produced six kills, three aces, and three digs
- Holden registered a double-double with 22 assists and 11 digs and added three kills and three aces
- Freshman Victoria Briones (El Paso, Texas) chipped in with 13 digs and a pair of aces
- Senior Amanda Darby (Shrewsbury, Mass.) added 13 assists, five digs, and two kills
- Noonan contributed four kills, two digs, and three total blocks
LEADERS – SOUTHERN MAINE:
- Brianna Delloiacono (Moodus, Conn.) led all players with 16 kills followed by Meg Perry (Gorham, ME) and Isabella Smith (Merrimack, N.H.) who each notched 10
- Smith and Delloiacono tied for the team lead in digs with 15 apiece while Sierra Castonguay (Nottingham, N.H.) totaled 14
- Savannah Hunter (Saco, Maine) tallied 39 assists in her collegiate debut
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 31-50 in the history of the series with University of Southern Maine and snaps an eight-match losing streak at the hands of the Huskies. The Monks' last victory over USM was a 3-2 triumph in Standish on October 13th, 2016.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play Maine Maritime Academy at Southern Maine on Friday at 7:00 PM.
