STANDISH, ME – St. Joe's (9-6, 2-1 GNAC) earned a split in a tri-match at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday. The Monks defeated GNAC rival Simmons College (1-9, 0-1 GNAC), 3-2, in the opener before falling to Western Connecticut State (13-2), 3-0, in the nightcap.

Saint Joseph's defeats Simmons, 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 17-25, 22-25, 16-14)

The Monks jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 25-22 victories in each of the first two sets, but the Sharks fought back with a pair of hard-fought wins to force a fifth set. Trailing 14-12 in the final set, the Monks registered four unanswered points to secure a 16-14 win and a 3-2 victory over their conference counterpart. Sarah Coffey '14 (Hanover, MA) emerged as the hero for the Royal Blue, as the first-year left-side hitter notched a block to break a 14-14 tie as well as the match-clinching kill.

For the Monks, Kiah Begley '13 (Berwick, ME/Saint Thomas Aquinas) registered her fifth double-double of the year – and 12th of her career - with 29 assists and 15 digs in the victory. Coffey tallied eight digs, seven kills and three aces, Brooke Dyer '14 (Lebanon, ME) chipped in with nine digs and eight kills, Sarah Hawkes '13 (Pownal, ME) added seven kills and Meaghan Harney '14 (Hollis, NH) recorded 13 digs.

For the Sharks, Meaghan Flynn belted a match-high 19 kills with 12 digs and four aces while Taylor Pedersen boasted 12 kills in the losing effort. Rachel Dufault dealt 37 assists and posted 15 digs and Kate Fionte contributed with 10 digs and nine kills for the visitors.

Western Connecticut State defeats Saint Joseph's, 3-0 (25-13, 25-9, 25-11)

The Monks posted their lowest attack percentage (-.095) and committed 17 attack errors in just 74 chances in a 3-0 loss to the Colonels.

Erica Russi '14 (Debary, FL) notched seven assists, Kristen Palladino '14 (Exeter, NH) paced the Royal Blue with eight digs and Jordan Pelczar '12 (Meredith, NH) added seven digs in the loss.

For the Colonels, Natalie Crosby registered 12 digs, six aces and six kills, Sammie Hathaway posted 23 assists, and Kelly Collins netted 14 digs

Western Connecticut defeated Simmons, 3-0 (25-10, 25-8, 25-21), in the sandwich match at 1:00 PM.

Saint Joseph's will travel to University of Maine-Farmington on Tuesday for a 7:00 PM non-conference match against the Beavers.