NEWTON, Mass. – Third-seeded Saint Joseph's College (18–13, 11–2 GNAC) saw its season come to a close in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinals on Thursday night, falling 3–0 (25–16, 25–12, 25–19) to second-seeded Lasell University (24–3, 12–1 GNAC) at the Lasell Athletic Center.
The loss marks the end of collegiate volleyball for the Monks' four seniors: Victoria Briones (El Paso, Texas), Heather Darby (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Regan Noonan (Standish, Maine), and Nadia Sixto (Chattanooga, Tenn.). All four were four-year members of the program and leave a lasting impact on Saint Joseph's Volleyball.
With the victory, Lasell advances to the GNAC Championship with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line. The Lasers will host #5 Regis College— which upset #4 Rivier University in the quarterfinals and stunned top-seeded Emmanuel College in Thursday's other semifinal—on Saturday (time TBD).
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set 1 – Lasell 25, Saint Joseph's 16
Saint Joseph's opened well, taking a 3–2 lead behind early kills from Nadia Sixto and Greta Mackintosh (Plymouth, Mass.). Lasell countered with a decisive serving run, turning a one-point deficit into a 13-5 advantage.
The Monks briefly stabilized with kills from Victoria Briones and Mia Gorham (North Andover, Mass.), closing the gap to 14–9, but the Lasers reasserted control and closed the frame, 25–16.
Lasell hit .265 with four blocks in the opener, while Saint Joseph's posted a .111 attack percentage.
Set 2 – Lasell 25, Saint Joseph's 12
Lasell surged ahead 6–2 and never allowed the Monks to settle in. A string of pinpoint serves—several resulting directly in aces—forced Saint Joseph's into two early timeouts.
The Monks generated some offense through Briones and Mackintosh, and Maddie Garrett (Euless, Texas) added a service ace, but every SJC push was quickly answered by the hosts.
Lasell's dominance was reflected in the numbers: a .321 hitting percentage (12 kills, 3 errors, 28 attempts), four aces, and two blocks. The Monks hit .042 (7–6–24) in the frame.
Set 3 – Lasell 25, Saint Joseph's 19
Saint Joseph's produced its strongest stretch in the third. After falling behind 6–1, the Monks later stormed back with an 11–5 run to tie the score at 18–18, fueled by kills from Briones and Mackintosh, a pair of SJC blocks, and seven Lasell errors.
Lasell regrouped quickly, however, closing the match with a decisive 7–1 run.
TEAM STATS:
Lasell held advantages in kills (34–22), aces (7–1), blocks (12–6), and assists (31–18), while Saint Joseph's posted a narrow edge in digs (44–42).
Lasell hit .168 (34–17–101) for the match. Saint Joseph's recorded a -.042 attack percentage (22–26–95), marking the program's first negative hitting performance since September 17, 2024—a span of 51 matches.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Victoria Briones: 7 kills, 7 digs, 1 block assist, 7.5 points
- Greta Mackintosh: 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 block solo, 6.0 points
- Nadia Sixto: 4 kills, 1 dig, 3 block assists, 5.5 points
- Maddie Garrett: 8 assists, 8 digs, 1 ace
- Larisa Comolli (Nashua, N.H.): 2 kills, 1 assist, 1 ace, 1 block assist
LEADERS – LASELL:
- Morgan Bogli: 12 kills, .250 hitting, 15 digs, 6 total blocks, 4 aces, 19.5 points
- Trinity Silva: 12 kills, .296 hitting, 2 digs, 3 total blocks, 14.0 points
- Victoria Pariseault: 4 kills, .364 hitting, 5 total blocks, 7.5 points
- Sydney Katz: 27 assists, 5 digs, 1 block assist, 1.5 points
- Michelle French: 5 block assists, 4.5 points
