BOSTON - For the first time since 2014, Emmanuel women's volleyball clinched home court advantage and the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs, thanks to Tuesday's 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-20, 25-8) victory over the Elms Blazers in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play from Yosinoff Court. The win is the 21st straight for the Saints, as they improve to 26-1 (12-0 GNAC) on the season. The Blazers drop to 8-16 (1-11 GNAC) in the loss.
After splitting the opening two sets, the third was a battle for momentum despite a strong attack line from Emmanuel. The Saints combined for 14 team kills while hitting .281 from the floor, managing to escape with a 25-20 set win.
The Blazers won five of the first six points of the frame, as Emmanuel didn't hold its first lead until 13-12 in the middle of the set. A four-point surge later in the set pushed the home team ahead just enough, as they claimed a close third set.
In the fourth, the Saints controlled play from the start, opening the frame on an 8-1 run. The lead only continued to swell as a 10-3 spurt through the middle of the set boosted the Saints advantage to 18-5. Emmanuel totaled 12 kills on 29 attempts, to go with three errors to hit a match-best .310 in the closing set, on the way to a 25-8 win in the fourth.
Senior
Isabella Marquez finished with a match-high 12 kills on 20 attempts, committing just one error to hit .550 from the floor. Sophomore
Letitia Bossou added nine kills while first-year
Ayla Evans chipped in with eight kills, her third-most in a match this season. Junior
Kason Huynh finished with a double-double of 35 assists and 12 digs.
For the Blazers,
Alysha Izquierdo had a team-high eight kills to go along with 14 digs.
Alejandra Marin added seven kills and 12 digs, while
Alyssa Moore led all players with 17 digs.
The Saints will look to close out a perfect GNAC campaign on Saturday, Nov. 8, as they travel to Norwich for an 11:00 a.m. match. The program hasn't gone unbeaten in conference play since 2006, when they finished the year 11-0 in GNACÂ action. The Blazers conclude their season with a Thursday match at Mount Holyoke and a Saturday home match against Dean
