STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (15-12, 9-2 GNAC) went toe-to-toe with Emmanuel College (25-1, 11-0 GNAC) before ultimately falling in four sets, 17-25, 25-21, 20-25, 12-25, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) volleyball action on Mike McDevitt Court at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Facing an Emmanuel squad riding a 19-match winning streak and entering the day with just one loss all season, the Monks showed plenty of fight early and pushed the Saints through extended rallies in the opening frame.

Saint Joseph's evened the match in the second set behind standout performances from junior Greta Mackintosh (Plymouth, Mass.) and senior Victoria Briones (El Paso, Texas), who combined for 10 kills in the stanza. The Monks hit an impressive .294 in the set— their most efficient offensive frame of the day— and used strong serving from junior Jessica Christman (Virginia Beach, Va.) to seize momentum and even the match at one set apiece.

Despite a tight third set that featured four ties, Emmanuel's front line proved difficult to slow down, and the nationally ranked Saints pulled away late to secure the win.

TEAM STATS:

Emmanuel held the advantage in kills (49–38), hitting percentage (.199–.095), service aces (9–7), and digs (57–45), while Saint Joseph's led the way in total blocks (8–1).

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Greta Mackintosh led the Monks with 13 kills and 14 points.
• Victoria Briones added 10 kills and nine digs.
• Junior Kylie Giakoumis (Middletown, N.Y.) was efficient with six kills on a .357 attack percentage.
• Senior Nadia Sixto (Chattanooga, Tenn.) tallied four kills and three total blocks.
• Maddie Garrett (Euless, Texas) distributed 17 assists and collected five digs.
• Jessica Christman contributed five service aces, seven assists, and six digs.
• Sophomore Riley Greenley (Newark, Del.) paced the back row with nine digs.

LEADERS – EMMANUEL:

• Sophomore Julia Haight (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) posted 15 kills with three aces and seven digs.
• Senior Isabella Marquez (Miami, Fla.) added 14 kills on 36 swings.
• Sophomore Letitia Bossou (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in 11 kills and a .286 attack rate.
• Junior Scheala Nielsen (Redondo Beach, Calif.) picked up 19 digs with four assists.
• Junior Kason Huynh (Mission Viejo, Calif.) handed out 35 assists with two aces and eight digs.
• Freshman Ayla Evans (New Haven, Conn.) added 12 digs and two aces.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 8-12 in the history of the series with Emmanuel College.

NEXT!
Saint Joseph's closes out the regular season next Saturday with a GNAC tri-match at Colby-Sawyer College. The Monks face Simmons University at 1:00 PM before meeting the host Chargers at 3:00 PM.