Women's Volleyball Splits Non-Conference Tri-match at Curry

MILTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's volleyball team split a non-conference tri-match on Saturday afternoon at Curry College. The host Colonels topped the Saints, 3-1 and beat Husson University 3-2. Emmanuel topped Husson 3-0 in the middle match. With the wins, the Colonels improve to 5-3 on the season while the Saints move to 4-3 on the year.

Match One: Curry 3, Emmanuel (Mass.) 1 (25-22, 25-20, 10-25, 25-13)

As the first match got underway, it was clear that the two squads were evenly matched, as the score quickly rose to 5-5. Emmanuel crept ahead briefly, but an attack error drew the Colonels to within one at 16-15. The Saints broke off a quick three point run to take their largest lead of the day at 19-15, but the Colonels rallied to score 10 of the next 13 points and took the first set 25-22.

After dropping the initial frame, Emmanuel jumped out to a 7-4 lead in set two, but seven straight points for Curry erased the deficit and gave the hosts an 11-7 edge. The Saints hung with them, as a kill from freshman Elizabeth Syverson (Huntington, Vt.) cut the Colonel lead to just two at 16-14, but the hosts once again finished strong and closed out the set 25-20, thanks to a 9-6 run.

Looking for the sweep, Curry fell flat in the third set, as the Saints pounced on every opportunity presented to them. After Emmanuel took nine of the first 10 points of the new set, the Colonels managed to side out with a block by freshmen Emilie Wilkinson (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Lauren Guzman (Cranston, R.I.). The Saints were not backing down, however, stretching their lead to 10 at 17-7 and using a 12-4 run to take the third set 25-10.

Despite the lopsided score, the third set stood to be an outlier, as the Colonels got right back to action in the fourth game, taking a 14-3 lead to start the stanza. The Saints went on a 7-3 run to cut into the lead, but the deficit would be far too much to overcome, as Curry took the match by winning set four by a score of 25-13.

Lexi Pereira (Attleboro, Mass.) turned in a match-high 12 kills while the Saints sported two players with 11 kills in Marissa Cataldo (Melrose, Mass.) and Emma Fenton (Monument Beach, Mass.). Libero Samantha Carrigan (Plaistow, N.H.) topped the Saints with 21 digs and Jalen Winfrey (Rochester, N.H.) led the team in assists with 24. Shea Mathews (Concord, N.H.) led the way with 23 digs, one of four Colonels to reach double-digits. Mathews also turned in four service aces while fellow captain Lex Bell (Salem, Conn.) recorded 27 assists. With her 13^th assist of the match, Bell broke the all-time career assists record for Curry women's volleyball, finishing the match with 843.

Match Two: Emmanuel 3, Husson 0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-20)

Ready to rebound, the Saints got out to an early 8-2 lead over the Eagles. Husson fought back to get back into the set, but could not get Emmanuel's lead under four. The Saints registered 14 kills in the first frame, collecting the game with a 25-19 score.

The Eagles looked to return the favor in game two, starting off with an 8-3 advantage, but serving runs by Syverson and Winfrey helped Emmanuel get back into the swing of things, before capping off a closely contested game by a score of 25-22.

Despite early ties in the third stanza at 2-2, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, and 8-8, the Eagles' hopes of avoiding a sweep dwindled as the set went on. Husson capitalized on an Emmanuel error to bring the score to 23-20, in favor of the Saints, but coming out of a timeout, Emmanuel was able to regroup and push the points they needed, closing the match thanks to a score of 25-20 in set three.

In the win, the Saints were led by the 10 kills of Isabella Miller (Blackstone, Mass.) as well as 17 assists from Winfrey. Carrigan rounded out the team highs with 13 digs. Mary Grace Power (Bellerose Village, N.Y.) led the Eagles with eight kills, while Adrienne Beatty (Rochester, N.H.) turned in 10 digs. Hanna Hembrow (Milford, N.H.) tied Winfrey for the match high with her 17 helpers.

The Saints head home with a 4-3 record, but will get back to action with another road match on Tuesday, September 17. The Saints will travel to take on Keene State at 7:00 p.m.

*Release courtesy of Curry College Athletic Communications