Oct. 29, 2011

Box Score

BOSTON, MASS. - The Emmanuel College women's volleyball team settled for a spilt during Saturday afternoon's final Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match as the Saints were able to open the day with a 3-1 win over Mount Ida College before falling to Emerson College, 3-1, in the nightcap. In the middle match, the Lions were able to take handle the Mustangs, 3-0. With the decisions, Emmanuel finishes the regular season with a 20-14 overall mark and a 10-3 record in GNAC play. The Lions are now 22-7 overall and finish the regular season with a perfect 13-0 GNAC mark to earn the regular season crown and the \#1 seed in the upcoming GNAC playoffs while the Mustangs fall to 12-15 and 4-9 in conference play.

In the opening match of the afternoon, the Saints got off to a slow start again the Mustangs as the visitors jumped out to take a 1-0 lead in the match following a 26-24 win in the opening set. Emmanuel appeared to be in control as they came out of the gates on a 5-1 run but Ida would tie that match at 11-11 and hold the lead until Emmanuel College senior outside hitter Jenna Ross (Centerburg, Ohio) put down a kill following a Mustangs timeout to give the Saints a 22-21 lead. Ross would collect another kill to put the Saints a point away from taking the set (24-22) but once again Mount Ida went on a run to close out the set, capped by a solo block from junior outside hitter Jennifer Ferreira (Shirley, Mass.) for the 26-24 win.

Emmanuel recovered in the second set as they'd even the match at 1-1 following a 25-14 route. During the frame, the Saints were led by senior middle hitter Rebecca Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) who slammed home five kills on five swings while Ross also collected five kills on eight attempts.

In a close third set, the Saints took momentum in the match with a 25-23 nail-bitter. Emmanuel was in control early but again Ida rallied to make things interesting. EC held a 21-15 advantage before the Mustangs rattled off five of the next six points to pull within 22-20 before the Saints called a timeout to but a halt to the run. Stanton would hammer home a kill right out of the timeout to make it 23-20, EC, but Mount Ida would score the next three points to even the set at 23, capped by a kill from freshman outside hitter Nicole Batakis (East Longmeadow, Mass.). Unfortunately for the visitor, a service error on the next point would give the Saints a 24-23 lead before Ross closed out the set with a kill to help Emmanuel prevail, 25-23.

The Saints used the third set momentum to roll in the fourth and final set, 25-15. With a 20-15 lead, EC would rattle off the final five points of the game as senior setter Kathryne Olsen (Fairhaven, Mass.) put an exclamation on the win, collecting an ace to end the match.

Stanton ended the opening contest with a match-high 23 kills while Ross added 17. Olsen chipped in with 11 kills and 27 assists while freshman setter Alison Donnelly (Longmeadow, Mass.) dished out 18 assists. On the defensive front, junior libero Yun-Ting Lee (Cambridge, Mass.) was phenomenal collecting 37 digs in the win.

Ferreira finished with a team-best 13 kills for the Mustangs while senior setter played well collecting nine kills to go along with 19 assists. Senior outside hitter Rachelle Gilbert (Corunna, Ind.) chipped in with eight kills and a team-high 20 digs.

In the middle match between Mount Ida and Emerson, the Lions were able to walk away with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-20) victory. Emerson was paced by senior middle hitter Alexa Krakowiak's (Westport, Conn.) nine kills while again it was Ferreira leading the Mustangs with a team-best eight kills.

In the nightcap between the Saints and the Lions, Emmanuel was able to come away with a gutsy 27-25 first set victory but there was a cost with the win. With the score deadlocked at 24-24, Stanton dislocated her left thumb, sidelining her for much of the action for the remainder of the match. Ross was able to slam home the final kill to give Emmanuel the 1-0 lead in the match but the Lions would take advantage of a much smaller block throughout the next three sets en route to the 3-1 win.

Emmanuel appeared to be not phased at all by Stanton injury as the Saints jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second set but the Lions maintained composure and fought back to even the score at 11-11. From that point on it was a race to the finish with several ties including a deadlock at 21-21 but a kill by senior outside hitter Megan Kaplon (Yellow Springs, Ohio) would give the Lions the lead for good as they'd come away with a 25-22 victory to even the match at 1-1.

The Saints shook off the tough second set and came out firing again in the third set as the home squad would again jump ahead to the early 10-6 lead. After trading a few points and the score at 14-10 in favor of the Saints, Emerson put together an impressive 8-0 run that deflated Emmanuel and gave the visitors the 18-14 advantage. The Saints were able to climb back into the set, evening the score at 22-22 following an Emerson hitting error but it was not enough as the Lions were able to prevail, 25-23, to take an important 2-1 lead in the match.

With play tied at 9-9 in the fourth set, the Lions pulled away by rattling off eight of the next nine points to take a comfortable 17-10 lead deep into the frame. Junior outside hitter Kelsey Scanlon (Sonoma, Calif.) led the way with five kills in the set as Emerson was able to pull out the 25-17 victory to wrap up the 2011 GNAC scheduled with a perfect 13-0 mark.

Senior outside hitter Madeleine Breeland (Fairfax, Va.) finished the match with a team-best 13 kills while Kaplon was just behind her with 12. Senior setter Kathleen Bailey ran the Lions offensive unit, dishing out a match-high 46 helpers while Kaplon also paced the defensive front, collecting 21 digs.

For the Saints, Stanton and Ross both finished the game with 15 kills apiece while Olsen passed out 27 assists. Lee was stellar once again on defense, collecting 37 digs while Ross was also clutch, getting down for 36 digs.

The Saints will be back in action on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 1 when they host an opponent to be determined in the \#3 vs. \#6 matchup of the 2011 GNAC Quarterfinals.