BOSTON, MA – Saint Joseph's (12-6, 4-4 GNAC) suffered a pair of losses in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match at Emmanuel College on Saturday afternoon. The Monks opened the day with a 3-0 (19-25, 22-25, 15-25) loss to the host Saints before losing to Rivier College by a 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 17-25, 11-25) margin.

Emmanuel def. Saint Joseph's, 3-0 (19-25, 22-25, 15-25)

The Saints stormed out of the gates early in the match and kills by Moriah Logan (Halifax, Mass.) and Rebecca Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) put Emmanuel out in front, 15-8.  Saint Joseph's College reached double figures on a kill by Holly Bannister (Cumberland, Me.) at 15-10.  A block by Emmanuel's Jenna Ross (Centerburg, Ohio) forced a Monks' timeout at 18-10.  Junior Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Me.) kept the Monks alive with consecutive kills that cut the St. Joseph's deficit to 22-17.  However, unforced errors by the visitors ended the set in favor of the Saints at 25-19.

Set two proved to be a come-from-behind effort by the Saints.  Emmanuel got down early on a kill by Hawkes and a big ace by Eric Russi (Debary, Fla.).  Saint Joseph's maintained the advantage throughout much of the set, but a swing from the middle by Stanton and a receiving error by the Monks knotted the score at 21-all.  Emmanuel picked up the lead on a blocking error by St. Joseph's.  An attack from the right side by Katherine Consavage (Derry, N.H.) gave EC a 23-21 edge. Another Stanton kill ended the set at 25-22 and gave Emmanuel a 2-0 lead in the match.

A kill from the middle by Stanton put Emmanuel out in front, 12-8, in the third set. Two more Emmanuel points capped a 4-0 Saints' run, forcing a timeout by the Monks at 14-8.  The Monks kept in close with another ace from Russi, setting the score at 18-14. An ace on the other side from Emmanuel rookie Alison Donnelly (Longmeadow, Mass.) was part of a 6-0 run by the Saints and the hosts led, 24-14.  The match ended on a receiving error by the Monks and Emmanuel took a 25-14 set three win and a 3-0 match win.

The Monks were led by Hawks and Brooke Dyer (Lebanon, Maine), who notched 4 kills each.  Junior setter Kiah Begley (Berwick, Maine) dished out 17 assists and she and Hawkes combined for 22 digs in the effort.

Rivier def. Saint Joseph's, 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 17-25, 11-25)

Hawkes registered a solid performance with a team-high eight kills and a .438 hitting percentage and Begley tallied 19 assists, but it was not enough as the Monks lost 3-1 to suffer a conference tri-match sweep for the first time this season.

Dyer and Emilee Penman '15 (Uncasville, Conn.) posted five kills apiece, Russi added a match-high 20 digs, Begley and Hawkes both tallied 11 digs, and Kristin Palladino '14 (Exeter, N.H.) chipped in with 13 digs in a losing effort.

Saint Joseph's will play at Husson University on Tuesday in a non-conference match slated to begin at 7:00 PM. 

THANKS IN PART TO EMMANUEL COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION