BOSTON, MA – Saint Joseph's (22-7, 9-3 GNAC) closed out the regular season by posting a GNAC tri-match sweep with victories over Emerson College (16-10, 10-2 GNAC) and Norwich University (10-14, 4-8 GNAC) on Saturday.

With the pair of conference wins, Saint Joseph's solidified its position in the upcoming GNAC Tournament, which commences with a quarterfinal round on Tuesday night. As the #3 seed, the Monks are primed to host a GNAC playoff match for the first time in six years as a league member and will host #6 Johnson & Wales University (13-18, 8-4 GNAC), which defeated the Royal Blue earlier this season, on Tuesday. The quarterfinal's start time has yet to be determined.

Saint Joseph's def. Emerson, 3-2 (14-25, 25-15, 25-14, 23-25, 15-10)

The Monks opened the day with a solid 3-2 victory over tri-match host Emerson, but play did not start out well, as the Royal Blue suffered a 25-14 loss as the Lions dominated in the first set.

Unfazed by the lackluster opening-set effort, St. Joe's rebounded to win the following two sets by double digits en route to claiming a 2-1 advantage. Emerson managed to sneak past St. Joe's, 25-23, in the fourth, but the Monks went on to take the fifth set, 15-10, with the help of a solid .400 hitting percentage.

Saint Joseph's registered a program-record 15 blocks in the victory and was led at the net by freshman Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) who tallied five solos and five block assists versus the Lions. Senior Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Maine) recorded two blocks and two assists while Alli Hollander (Thermal, Calif.) and Emilee Penman (Uncasville, Conn.) added four and three block assists, respectively, in the triumph.

Hawkes broke the Monks' individual-match record for kills with 26 and added 18 digs with three service aces and classmate Kiah Begley (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) tallied 44 assists – one shy of her own team record – to go with 12 digs and four kills in the win. Wachowiak posted 12 kills, Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) chipped in with 26 digs and four aces and Holly Bannister (Cumberland, Maine) contributed nine kills.

For the hosts, sophomore Kat Rice (Delmar, N.Y.) posted 19 kills, Alyssa Thorne (Pittsburgh, Pa.) registered 15 kills and five digs and Juliana Tucker (Encino, Calif.) added 51 assists, 10 digs and four kills in a losing effort.

For Saint Joseph's, today's victory over Emerson College is the first in program history. Prior to this morning, the Lions had defeated the Monks in all six meetings between the conference counterparts with five wins coming by way of the shutout.

Saint Joseph's def. Norwich, 3-0 (25-15, 25-14, 25-20)

The Monks proceeded to post three convincing wins over the Cadets of Norwich en route to earning their second GNAC tri-match sweep of the season. Featuring a solid .256 team hitting percentage, St. Joe's seldom trailed in the 3-0 win.

Wachowiak paved the way for the Royal Blue with 11 kills and five total blocks to go with a stellar .421 hitting rate and Hawkes tallied 11 kills, nine digs, two assists and a pair of block assists along with a .360 attack percentage versus the Cadets. Begley added 24 assists, 15 digs and four kills, Hollander recorded seven digs and three kills, Bannister chipped in four kills and four total blocks and Russi posted six digs, two aces and two kills in the victory.

For Norwich, Kelsey Mancini notched eight kills and Gabrielle Miller added 15 assists and six digs in a losing effort.

Saint Joseph's had never defeated Norwich prior to this afternoon and now owns a 1-7 record versus the Cadets. Five of the setbacks at the hands of Norwich have been of the shutout variety. 

St. Joe's heads into the postseason having won 10 of the last 12 matches, a stretch that includes six consecutive victories versus GNAC opponents. The Monks have not posted more than 22 wins in a season since 1995, when the team recorded a program-record 27 victories under Head Coach John Razsa. 

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.