STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (2-7) snapped a seven-match losing streak with a 3-2 (26-24, 25-13, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12) victory over University of New England (1-6) in a non-conference volleyball matchup at Mike McDevitt Court on Thursday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The in-state rivals played through 11 tie scores and five lead changes in the first set, which was eventually won by the Monks by a 26-24 margin.
The second set was all St. Joe's, as the Monks registered a .281 attack percentage with 11 kills and two miscues in 32 attempts. Sophomore Maggie Sylvester (Barrington, N.H.) led the way with four kills and a .571 attack rate as SJC trounced UNE by a 25-13 score to take a 2-0 set advantage.
The third frame was close throughout as neither team held a lead greater than three points until Grace Mueller posted a kill to give the Nor'easters a 23-20 edge. Freshman Victoria Briones (El Paso, Texas) later belted a kill to make it a 24-22 score, but the visitors closed out the set with a 25-22 win.
Trailing 2-1, UNE went on to tie the match with a 25-23 fourth-set triumph. The Nor'easters held the lead for all but the first few serves and held off a late SJC rally to force a deciding fifth set.
St. Joe's held at least a share of the lead for the entire fifth frame and took home the 15-12 set triumph - and 3-2 match victory - in dramatic fashion with a pair of kills from Briones.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Briones paced the Monks with 12 kills and 26 digs
- Sylvester produced a double-double with 10 kills and 26 digs
- Freshman Nadia Sixto (Chattanooga, Tenn.) registered 11 kills and six digs
- Senior Hanna Holden (Stoughton, Mass.) enjoyed one of the finest matches of her career with seven kills, 22 assists, and 15 digs
- Sophomore Hanna Webster (Alvin, Texas) tallied seven kills, two aces, and eight digs
- Junior Abby Jerome (Barrington, N.H.) added four service aces and 13 digs
- Senior Isabel Philbrick (Milford, N.H.) chipped in with five kills and three total blocks
LEADERS – UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND:
- Viktoria Pavlyuk belted a match-high 14 kills with three digs and three total blocks
- Lauren Davenport recorded 10 kills and 17 digs
- Addie Miller notched four kills, 23 assists, and 10 digs
- Griffin Chaffin-Quiray led all players with 27 digs
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 5-33 (since 1990) versus the University of New England and snaps an eight-match losing streak at the hands of the Nor'easters. The Monks' last victory over UNE was a 3-0 triumph in Biddeford on September 14th, 2017.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play Framingham State (2:00 PM) and Worcester State (4:00 PM) in a non-conference tri-match hosted by the latter on Saturday.
