BOSTON - Emmanuel women's volleyball opened its season on Tuesday, falling 3-1 (25-12, 23-25, 25-23, 25-12) to the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards at Tansey Gymnasium in non-conference play between the Colleges of the Fenway rivals.
The Saints found their rhythm in the second set, riding a balanced attack to even the match. Sophomore Ayla Evans led the charge with back-to-back kills during a mid-set surge, while first-year Kennedy Horne came off the bench to spark a late run with a pair of service aces that helped Emmanuel close out the 25-23 win.
Junior Letitia Bossou helped the Saints offensively with 10 kills. Evans matched Bossou with 10 kills of her own on a sharp .292 hitting percentage. Senior Kason Huynh closed with a team-high 17 assists to go along with nine kills. Junior Frances Ramos Rodriguez and first-year Delilah Davis both chipped in with three blocks, while Davis added six kills in her collegiate debut. Sophomore Sofia Petrucci opened the year with a career-high 20 digs.
Wentworth's attack proved too much down the stretch, with Savannah Morford finishing the day with a match-high 16 kills. Kate McLane added 12 kills for the Leopards. Olivia Vaughn came through with a match-best 37 assists in the win.
The third set slipped away late for the Saints, who led for stretches before Wentworth closed on a 3-0 run to take a 2-1 match lead. Emmanuel couldn't recover in the fourth, dropping the set 25-12, and the match, 3-1.
Emmanuel falls to 0-1 to open the season and will look to bounce back in its next match on Friday, Sept. 4, in a tri-match with FDU-Florham and John Jay College, hosted by FDU.
