STANDISH, Maine – Senior Victoria Huntley (Ellsworth, Maine) registered a career-high 21 kills with 16 digs and five service aces to lift Saint Joseph's College (11-11, 5-4 GNAC) past University of New England (13-11, 3-5 CCC), 3-1 (25-23, 26-24, 22-25, 25-18), in non-conference women's volleyball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Thursday evening.

SENIOR MOMENT

Prior to the start of the match the Monks held a brief ceremony to honor the program's three seniors: Huntley, Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.), and Student Assistant Primo Lombardi (East Hampstead, N.H.). The 2017 graduating class has helped Saint Joseph's post a 66-51 (.564) overall record with a 23-19 (.548) mark in conference play with a pair of GNAC Tournament appearances and the program's first GNAC postseason win – a 3-2 quarterfinal triumph over Simmons College – last fall.

FIRST SET

The Monks set the tone for the night early in the opening set, as the hosts racked up seven kills – including five from Huntley – en route to claiming an 11-4 lead. The Nor'easters quickly got back into the conversation and tied the game at 21-21 late but, with the score knotted at 23, the Monks received kills from Jordynne Copp (Cumberland, Maine) and Huntley to clinch the 1-0 lead.

SECOND SET

UNE led for the better part of the second frame but saw an 18-13 cushion devolve into a 20-20 stalemate, with four SJC points coming off Nor'easter errors. Minutes later, with the score tied 24-24, St. Joe's took advantage of a UNE bad set and Huntley notched another set-clinching kill to stake the Royal Blue to a 2-0 advantage.

THIRD SET

The Nor'easters opened up a 12-3 lead in the third set and withstood a steady Monks' comeback effort, with the help of four kills from sophomore Rene Roggenbuck (Goffstown, N.H.), to post a 25-22 win and cut the hosts' set advantage to 2-1.

FOURTH SET

Saint Joseph's opened what proved to be the final set with a 7-1 run, but UNE fought back into contention, as three service aces from freshman Katie Marsh (Melbourne, Australia) capped an impressive effort with the score set at 15-15. The Monks ran away with the remainder of the set to the tune of a 10-3 run, as Huntley rattled off three-consecutive aces of her own and Gosselin ended the match with a decisive kill.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

Kills: Huntley – 21, Gosselin – 10, Kelsey Bickford – 5

Assists: Sarah Dyer – 39

Digs: Jennelle Thompson – 33, Gosselin -20, Huntley – 16, Dyer – 14

Aces: Huntley – 5, Gosselin – 3

Total Blocks: Copp – 3, Huntley – 2

LEADERS  - UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND:

Kills: Emily Sawicki – 9, Roggenbuck – 8, Flynn & Grayson Szczepaniak – 6

Assists: Kristen Falcinelli – 32

Digs: Sawicki – 25, Marsh – 19, Flynn – 14, Maddy Blake – 12, Falcinelli – 10

Aces: Marsh – 3

Total Blocks: Roggenbuck – 6, Falcinelli – 3

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's held advantages in kills (43-40), hitting percentage (.082 - .069), assists (42-38), aces (9-6), and digs (102-89) while UNE posted a 10-6 lead in blocks.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improved to 6-52 - since the 1989 season – versus University of New England, a team that defeated the Monks, 3-2, earlier this season.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's closes out conference play with a tri-match with Rivier University (2:00 PM) at Emmanuel College (4:00 PM) this Saturday. University of New England hosts Salve Regina University in a CCC match Saturday at 1:00 PM.

#GOMONKS

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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.