VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Saint Joseph's College (1-4) concluded play in the Marlin Invitational with a pair of non-conference losses at the TowneBank Arena on Saturday. The Monks opened the day with a 3-0 setback against William Peace University before falling to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse by the same score.

WILLIAM PEACE 3, SAINT JOSEPH'S 0 (26-24, 25-20, 25-22)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's turned in its strongest offensive performance of the day during a back-and-forth opening set. The Monks registered 15 kills with a .289 attack percentage and rallied from a 23-21 deficit behind a kill from senior Larisa Comolli (Nashua, N.H.), an ace by senior Tamya Johnson (Boston, Mass.), and a kill from sophomore Mary McNulty (Warwick, R.I.).

The three-point surge gave Saint Joseph's a 24-23 lead, but William Peace answered with the final three points to secure a 26-24 victory.

The Monks remained within striking distance throughout the second set and pulled within one point on several occasions before the Pacers closed the frame with three unanswered points for a 25-20 win.

Saint Joseph's attempted another late rally in the third set. Trailing 24-20, the Monks received a William Peace service error and a Comolli kill before the Pacers claimed the final point to complete the sweep.

MONKS LEADERS:

• Senior Greta Mackintosh (Plymouth, Mass.) led the attack with 12 kills and a .379 hitting percentage.
• Sophomore Addison Thomas (London, Ohio) totaled seven kills, four aces, nine digs, and three block assists.
• Sophomore Maddie Garrett (Euless, Texas) recorded 13 assists, five digs, and an ace.
• Johnson contributed eight assists, five digs, and three aces.
• Senior Jessica Christman (Virginia Beach, Va.) collected nine digs.
• First-year Sophia Fallon (New Canaan, Conn.) registered three aces and two block assists.

WISCONSIN-LA CROSSE 3, SAINT JOSEPH'S 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-18)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Monks stayed close through the first half of the opening set and trailed by just three, 21-18, following a kill from senior Kylie Giakoumis (Middletown, N.Y.). Wisconsin-La Crosse responded by scoring four of the final five points to take the set, 25-19.

The Eagles established an early advantage in the second frame and used a late run to pull away for a 25-16 victory. Saint Joseph's continued to battle in the third, scoring three of the final four points before Wisconsin-La Crosse finished the 25-18 win.

MONKS LEADERS:

• Giakoumis and Fallon paced Saint Joseph's with six kills apiece.
• Fallon hit .444 and added two block assists.
• Mackintosh finished with five kills, while Comolli contributed four kills and two block assists.
• Garrett recorded 10 assists and seven digs.
• Johnson added eight assists and an ace.
• Christman totaled seven digs and an ace, while sophomore Livy McDonough (West Friendship, Md.) recorded six digs and two aces.
• McNulty led the Monks at the net with three block assists.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will host University of Saint Joseph (11:00 AM) and Husson University (3:00 PM) next Saturday (Sep. 12) with the two non-SJC teams facing off in the middle match at 1:00 PM.