BOSTON, Mass. – Simmons University (5-4, 3-0 GNAC) defeated Saint Joseph's College (5-6, 2-1 GNAC), 3-2, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball action at the Holmes Sports Center on Tuesday evening.

The Sharks secured the victory by scores of 25-22, 25-15, 20-25, 19-25, and 15-12.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The opening set featured nine ties, including a 13-13 deadlock, before Simmons used a five-point run to claim an 18-13 advantage. Saint Joseph's pulled within two late, 24-22, following a kill from senior middle blocker Kylie Giakoumis (Middletown, N.Y.), but the Sharks recorded the next point to take the first frame.

Saint Joseph's held a 10-8 edge in the second set following consecutive kills from senior outside hitter Greta Mackintosh (Plymouth, Mass.). Simmons responded with six unanswered points and closed the frame on a 17-5 run to build a 2-0 match lead.

The Sharks opened the third set with four straight points before Saint Joseph's answered with an 8-2 surge highlighted by two Giakoumis kills and a service ace from senior Jessica Christman (Virginia Beach, Va.). With the score tied at 20-20, the Monks rattled off five unanswered points behind two Mackintosh kills, a kill from first-year middle blocker Lindsay Levesque (Arundel, Maine), and an ace from first-year outside hitter Sophia Fallon (New Canaan, Conn.).

Saint Joseph's carried the momentum into the fourth set, jumping ahead 4-0 and building an 18-10 cushion. Simmons trimmed the deficit to four late, but sophomore outside hitter Addison Thomas (London, Ohio) delivered a kill and Christman followed with an ace to close out the 25-19 victory and force a deciding set.

The Monks held a 6-4 lead in the fifth frame before Simmons surged ahead, 10-7. Facing match point at 14-8, Saint Joseph's scored four consecutive points behind two Fallon kills and a service ace, but Mia LeBrun ended the comeback with a kill to secure the match for the Sharks.

TEAM STATS:

Saint Joseph's posted a .196 hitting percentage, narrowly edging Simmons' .195 mark.

The Monks held advantages in service aces (12-9) and total blocks (6-5).

Simmons finished with advantages in kills (59-49), assists (55-45), and digs (73-67).

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Mackintosh led the Monks with 12 kills and added five digs.
• Fallon recorded nine kills with only one error on 17 attempts for a match-high .471 hitting percentage. She also tallied four service aces, six digs, and three block assists.
• Levesque finished with nine kills, while Thomas contributed eight kills and eight digs.
• Giakoumis posted eight kills and a match-high four total blocks.
• Sophomore setter Maddie Garrett (Euless, Texas) registered a team-high 32 assists and 10 digs.
• Sophomore libero Livy McDonough (West Friendship, Md.) led the Monks with 15 digs.
• Christman collected three service aces and six digs.

LEADERS – SIMMONS:

• Hannah Pridgeon led all players with 21 kills and added 10 digs.
• Kira Buonopane registered 13 kills on 21 attempts for a .524 hitting percentage while contributing four total blocks.
• LeBrun finished with 12 kills.
• Gabrielle Pattie dished out a match-high 51 assists and added 10 digs.
• Carolina Rodriguez led all players with 22 digs.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With Tuesday's setback, Saint Joseph's moves to 9-14 in the all-time series against Simmons. The loss snapped a two-match winning streak for the Monks, who defeated the Sharks twice during the 2025 season, including a 3-1 victory in the GNAC Tournament. Tuesday's match was the eighth five-set contest between the programs since the series began in 2007. Simmons is now 9-0 all-time at home versus Saint Joseph's.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host Salem State University at 6:00 PM on Thursday.