CHICOPEE, Mass. – Emmanuel women's volleyball extended their winning streak to nine matches, picking up a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win on Friday night, 3-1, over the Elms Blazers at Picknelly Arena.
The victory matches the Saints longest winning streak in 13 seasons, as Emmanuel moves to 9-2 (3-0 GNAC) with the win. The Blazers fall to 1-12 (1-3 GNAC) with the loss.

The Saints opening set win was set up by an 8-0 scoring run early in the frame that gave Emmanuel a 13-4 set lead. The Blazers could only close to within six before a serving error by Elms provided set point for the Saints in a 25-17 first set win.

Another beginning of the set run launched Emmanuel out in front in the second set, as the visitors scored the first seven points of the set. The Saints remained comfortably in front as another Blazers serving error led to the Saints winning the second set, 25-15.

In the third set, it was the Blazers that closed late with a scoring run to force a fourth set. Emmanuel was two points from victory before a run of four straight points helped Elms tie the set at 23-23. The Saints had two match points but with Elms defending both and capping the set with a kill, the Blazers forced a fourth set with a 29-27 win.

In the fourth, it took until the middle portion of the set for the Saints to pull away, scoring nine of 11 points to go from trailing to a 20-14 set lead. The Blazers nearly pulled a comeback going on a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 22-21, but the final three points of the match belonged to Emmanuel, capped off by a combo block for sophomore Kason Huynh and first-year Madison Sherman, giving the Saints the 25-21 set victory.

Junior Isabella Marquez and first-year Letitia Bossou tied for the match-high in kills, posting 10 each on the night. First-year Amber Hong added nine kills, four service aces, and a career-high 18 digs. Huynh chipped in with her fifth double-double of the season with 24 assists and 12 digs.

Blazers senior Francesca Dirienzo finished with a team-high eight kills while hitting .389 from the floor. Junior Alysha Izquierdo and sophomore Quiana Gibbs both added seven kills in the loss.

The Saints return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 1, as they look for their 10^th straight win as they host New England College at 7:00 p.m. The Blazers head out of conference to host Rhode Island College on Monday, Sept. 30, at 6:00 p.m.