STANDISH, Maine – The New England College women's volleyball team fell to Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Thursday night, dropping straight sets (18-25, 8-25, 22-25) to the Monks in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
Sophomore Teagan Saner (Plains, Mont.) had all five of her kills on the night in the first set, but it was not enough to overcome an 11-5 mid-set Monk run which allowed the hosts to seize a 1-0 lead.
The Monks ran set number two, using dominant runs of 9-0 and 7-1 to jump out to a big lead. They won the final four points of the set to capture a two-set lead.
The Pilgrims jumped out to an early lead in the third set but Saint Joseph's responded with a 9-2 run to re-take the lead. Down 23-17, NEC won five straight points, with the latter three off the service of senior Samantha Winters (Dover, N.H.), to prompt a Monk timeout. Down by one, 22-23, the Monks would hold off the 'Grims by winning the final two points of the match.
Saner led the Pilgrims with seven points, while senior Tyra Kelly (Fresno, Calif.) had four off three kills and a block. Sophomore Maddy Rollinson (Hamden, Conn.) had seven digs and three assists.
The loss drops the 'Grims to an even .500 record on the season at 9-9 and 3-4 in conference play. The team now returns home for a Saturday tri-match at Bridges Gym, first hosting GNAC foe Elms College at 11:00 AM before playing out-of-conference Salem State at 3:00 PM.
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