WEST HARTFORD, CT – Saint Joseph's (16-5, 6-3 GNAC) defeated Simmons College (14-11, 5-2 GNAC), 3-2, and University of Saint Joseph (5-18, 1-8 GNAC), 3-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match on Saturday afternoon. Senior middle blocker Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Maine) registered 26 kills and 35 digs in the conference sweep.

With her third kill in the 3-0 win over Saint Joseph (CT), Hawkes became the first player in SJC volleyball program history to notch 1,000 career kills. The two-time All-GNAC honoree, who tallied the 1,000th dig of her career in a loss to Lasell College on September 29th, is just the fourth player in GNAC volleyball history to reach the 1,000-mark in both kills and digs in their career.

Saint Joseph's def. Simmons, 3-2 (28-26, 24-26, 25-17, 20-25, 15-9)

In a match that featured 26 ties and 13 lead changes, the Monks trailed 18-11 in the opening set but rallied with 11 of the next 15 points to knot play at 22-all. Kills from freshman Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) countered points by Sharks hitter Raeann Nesta and Hawkes belted a kill of her own to lift the Royal Blue to a 26-25 edge. A Caroline Boyd kill kept the Sharks' hopes alive, but Holly Bannister (Cumberland, Maine) and Emilee Penman (Uncasville, Conn.) combined to block a Brittany Hill attack attempt and freshman Abbie McPhee (Epping, N.H.) belted a service ace to provide Saint Joseph's with a 28-26 win and a 1-0 match advantage.

Neither club held more than a three-point lead in the second set. The Monks held a 24-23 edge after Kiah Begley (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) recorded a service ace, but the Sharks retaliated with three unanswered points to take the second set and tie the match at 1-1.

St. Joe's raced out to a 12-3 lead in the third set and would not trail en route to a decisive 25-17 victory. The fourth set was quite the opposite, as Simmons led for the duration in a 25-20 triumph to tie the match at two and force a conclusive fifth set.

The deciding set was tied at 5-5 before the Monks rattled off four straight points with the help of three unforced Simmons errors. The Sharks cut into the SJC advantage and trailed 11-9 minutes later, but Saint Joseph's closed out the set and the match with four straight points, punctuated by a Wachowiak kill, to earn the victory.

Hawkes led all players with 20 kills and added 24 digs in the St. Joe's triumph, while Begley produced 45 assists and 17 digs and Wachowiak added 18 kills and six total blocks for the Royal Blue. Junior libero Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) recorded 24 digs, Alli Hollander (Thermal, Calif.) netted nine kills and 15 digs, and McPhee chipped in with six aces and 16 digs.

For the Sharks, Hill tallied 14 kills and 13 digs, Nesta added 13 kills, Boyd and Kelly Last added 12 digs apiece, and Rachel Dufault registered 53 assists and 15 digs in a losing effort.

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 3-3 in the history of the series with Simmons College, which entered the day riding a seven-game winning streak.

Saint Joseph's def. University of Saint Joseph, 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-12)

The Monks' second match of the day was not nearly as closely-contested as the first, as the Royal Blue cruised to double-digit victories in all three sets en route to a convincing 3-0 triumph.

The highlight of the match occurred late in the second set when Hawkes tallied the 1,000th kill of her career. Begley, her classmate and fellow four-year starter, recorded an assist on the play, which lifted the Monks to a 18-12 lead.

For St. Joe's, Wachowiak notched nine kills, Hawkes tallied six kills and 11 digs, Hollander chimed in with six kills and six digs, Begley registered 25 assists and three aces, and Russi added 15 digs.

Megan Williams netted nine assists and eight digs while Amanda Dondero and Rebecca DiPinto recorded four kills apiece for the host-Blue Jays.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 4-2 in the history of the series with Saint Joseph (CT) and has now defeated the Blue Jays in four consecutive meetings dating back to the 2009 campaign.

Saint Joseph's will play at Maine-Farmington in a non-conference match at 7:00 PM on Monday night.

Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.