STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (4-2) defeated Wentworth Institute (1-4) and Green Mountain College (1-4) on the first night of the SJC Autumn Invitational Tournament at the Harold Alfond Center on Friday. Holly Bannister '14 (Cumberland, ME) notched 10 service aces in the pair of Royal Blue victories.

In the opening contests, St. Joe's topped Wentworth, 3-1, and Green Mountain topped Lyndon State (0-2) by a 3-0 score. Both of the nightcap matches were won by 3-0 scores, as Wentworth topped Lyndon State and the Monks blanked Green Mountain.

Saint Joseph's defeats Wentworth, 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-17)

The Monks opened tourney play with a 3-1 win over Wentworth Institute, with Sarah Hawkes '13 (Pownal, ME) and Kiah Begley '13 (Berwick, ME/Saint Thomas Aquinas) leading the charge for the Royal Blue. Hawkes notched a double-double with 11 digs and 10 kills with three solo blocks and two aces, while Begley also recorded a double-dip with 26 assists and 10 digs against the Panthers. Bannister belted a match-high five aces with seven digs and five kills and Sarah Coffey '14 (Hanover, MA) posted 13 digs and four kills for the Monks. Devon Masse '14 (Hudson, NH) registered seven kills and Caitlin Cleary '13 (Scarborough, ME) chipped in with 10 digs in the Royal Blue triumph.

Michelle Hobbs '14 (Northwood, NH) and Julie Rahilly '13 (Nashua, NH) both had 10 kills for the Panthers, while Julie Bruton '13 (Montgomery, TX) notched a match-high 15 digs with seven kills and three service aces in the loss. Nicole Wetherbee '13 (Pembroke, MA) added 12 digs for Wentworth.

The match was fairly even in statistical categories, as the Monks owned slim advantages in kills (34-33), assists (29-28) and aces (14-12). The two teams, who faced off last weekend with St. Joe's topping Wentworth 3-2 in the Wheaton Invitational, both dealt 65 assists in the four-set match.

Green Mountain defeats Lyndon State, 3-0 (25-21, 25-11, 25-18)

Green Mountain kicked off the tourney with a 3-0 victory over Lyndon State behind a solid effort from Olesea Cojohari '11 (Balti, Moldova). The senior outside hitter registered eight kills, four digs and five aces to help lead the Eagles to their first win of the 2010 campaign.

Ally Ciaramitaro '11 (Melrose, MA) notched nine assists and three service aces for the Hornets in a losing effort.

Wentworth defeats Lyndon State, 3-0 (25-7, 25-12, 25-9)

Sophomore setter Rebecca Williams (Brockton, MA) dished out 24 assists for Wentworth in a 3-0 win over Lyndon State in one of two nightcap contests at the Alfond. Christine Bailey '11 (Lyndonville, VT) notched three assists with a kill, an ace and a dig for the Hornets.

Saint Joseph's defeats Green Mountain, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-13)

St. Joe's completed a sweep on the first day of the SJC Autumn Invite with a 3-0 triumph over the Eagles of Green Mountain College. Alyssa Grigware '14 (Biddeford, ME) blasted 11 kills, the most for any player in the four evening contests, with a .240 hitting percentage and six digs. Haley Reddick '14 (Brookline, NH) dealt 31 helpers, also a match-high for the day, and Bannister posted her second-consecutive five-ace effort in the SJC win. Erica Russi '14 (Debary, FL) added 10 digs and seven kills and Kristen Palladino '14 (Exeter, NH) chipped in with a team-high 13 digs.

Sarah Bills collected a match-high 15 digs for the Eagles, while Cojohari, Kara Egan '14 (Breezy Point, NY) and Jennifer McGuire '11 (Nutley, NJ) all recorded nine digs in the losing effort. Cojohari added five kills and four aces to her stat line in the loss as Green Mountain finishes the night with a 1-1 record in the tourney.

The Monks held commanding advantages in kills (36-14), assists (34-12) and hitting percentage (.184--.043) in the triumph.

The action continues with two games at 10:00 AM tomorrow, as St. Joe's takes on Lyndon State and Wentworth faces off against Green Mountain. The final games take place at 12:00 PM, as the teams with the best record in round-robin play participate in the championship while the clubs with lesser records play in the consolation game.