NEWTON, MA - Saint Joseph's (6-2, 2-0 GNAC) swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match with wins over Mount Ida College (5-5, 1-1 GNAC) and Suffolk University (2-9, 0-4 GNAC) on Saturday.
St. Joe's def. Mount Ida, 3-1 (26-28, 27-25, 25-23, 25-14)
The Monks suffered a 28-26 loss to the host Mustangs in the opening set but proceeded to rattle off three consecutive victories to defeat Mount Ida for the first time in program history.
Sarah Hawkes '13 (Pownal, Maine) led all players with 18 kills and added 21 digs and seven block assists in the win and fellow team captain Kiah Begley '13 (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) dealt a match-high 35 assists with five kills against the Mustangs.
Sophomore libero Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) produced 17 digs and three service aces, Emilee Penman '15 (Uncasville, Conn.) added seven kills, Jordan Pelczar '12 (Meredith, N.H.) contributed 19 digs, and Kristin Palladino '14 (Exeter, N.H.) tallied 25 digs, three aces and five kills for the Monks.
St. Joe's def. Suffolk, 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-19)
Saint Joseph's would not settle for a split on this day as the team rolled to a 3-0 win over Suffolk in the nightcap match to collect the second GNAC tri-match sweep in program history.
With 31 assists in the win over the Rams, Begley became the second player in program history to reach the 1,500 mark and now stands just nine helpers behind the Monks' all-time assists leader, Kerri Padgett '94, who tallied 1,509 over four seasons in 93 matches and 408 total sets. It has taken Begley just 209 sets and 67 matches to reach the milestone.
Hawkes amassed 10 kills and 11 digs - both team-highs - to go with a spectacular .375 attack percentage after making just one error in 24 chances. Palladino added eight kills and 10 digs, Kaela Murphy '15 (Salem, Mass.) contributed seven kills and four aces, and Russi tallied 10 digs, five aces and three kills on the afternoon.
Saint Joseph's will play at Lesley College in a non-conference match slated to begin at 7:00 PM on Thursday evening.