GORHAM, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (1-2) split a pair of non-conference volleyball matches at University of Southern Maine's Hill Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Monks opened with a 3-2 (25-20, 14-25, 19-25, 25-21, 15-9) rally victory over Maine Maritime Academy (1-2) and closed out the day with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-16, 21-25, 19-25) setback at the hands of University of New England (1-1).

Saint Joseph's 3, Maine Maritime 2:

The Monks opened the day with a 25-20 triumph over the Mariners but found themselves facing a 2-1 deficit with negative hitting percentages during the subsequent two sets. St. Joe's forced a fifth set by winning a hotly contested fourth, 25-21, and pulled away in the deciding set with a 15-9 win and 3-2 match triumph.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Junior Jennelle Thompson (Farmington, N.H.) notched a match-high 28 digs and, with her 27th dig, became the Monks' all-time digs leader and finished the day with 1,365 over two-plus seasons (61 matches, 220 sets)
• Sophomore Kelsey Bickford (Somersworth, N.H.) tallied 13 kills, seven digs, and a pair of block assists
• Senior Jordynne Copp (Cumberland, Maine) added 10 kills, five digs, and three total blocks
• Junior Sarah Dyer (Seabrook, N.H.) contributed 32 assists with 13 digs

LEADERS – MAINE MARITIME:

• Jessica D'Auria led all players with 18 kills and chipped in with four aces, five digs, and four block assists
• Maria Perez notched 22 digs with six aces
• Alexa Cacacie registered 12 kills, four aces, and four digs
• Sydney Adams posted 39 assists, 11 digs, four kills, and three aces

TEAM STATS:

The Mariners maintained a lead in kills (47-35), assists (44-35), and service aces (19-6) while the Monks held a 70-64 advantage in kills in the victory.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 11-5 in the history of the series with Maine Maritime Academy, a team that blanked the Monks in season-opening action last fall.

University of New England 3, Saint Joseph's 1:

The Nor'easters opened with a 25-20 set win and the Monks responded with a dominant 25-16 victory to even the match at one set apiece, but UNE prevailed with close third (25-21) and fourth (25-19) set triumphs to pick up a 3-1 win.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Sophomore Chatham Mills (Gorham, Maine) posted a career-best .308 hitting percentage with a match-high 13 kills
• Bickford contributed a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs
• Dyer dealt a match-high 33 assists with three aces and seven digs
• Thompson added 19 digs
• Freshman Madison Provencher (Rochester, N.H.) tallied 12 digs
• Copp chipped in with six kills
• Freshman Erin Olson (Stoughton, Mass.) tacked on five kills

LEADERS – UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND:

• Molly Camelo registered 12 kills and seven digs
• Paige Simoneau notched a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs
• Kristen Falcinelli dealt 23 assists with 10 digs
• Sydney Christiansen added 21 assists and three aces
• Katie Marsh posted 15 digs

TEAM STATS:

The Nor'easters held advantages in kills (47-34), assists (45-33), and aces (10-7) while the Monks posted a 63-55 lead in digs in a losing effort.

HISTORICALL SPEAKING:

With the result, Saint Joseph's falls to 6-53 versus UNE (since 1989), a team the Monks had defeated in three of the last four meetings prior to this afternoon.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's returns to action Tuesday with a home game versus Plymouth State University at 7:00 PM.

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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.