Emmanuel Defeats Wentworth in Home Opener

BOSTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College women's volleyball team earned its first win of the 2010 season as the Saints defeated neighborhood rival Wentworth, 3-0, in a non-conference match played Tansey Gymnasium.

The Saints raced out to a 9-0 lead before the Leopards would record a point on the scoreboard.  Emmanuel opened its lead to as much as 11 (16-5), before taking a 1-0 lead with a 25-15 win.

In the second set, the two teams were tied three times during the opening portion, before the Saints used a 4-0 run to take an 8-4 lead.  Wentworth pulled within one at 12-11 before Emmanuel scored four straight points to lead, 16-11.  The Leopards would pull within four (19-15), but the visitors took a 2-0 lead with a 25-20 win.

Jumping out to early leads of 4-1 and 9-5, the Saints watched a 4-2 Wentworth spurt cut the lead in half at 11-9.  However, Emmanuel scored six of the next seven points and extended its lead to 17-10 before eventually taking a 24-13 lead.  Despite having match point, the Leopards began to claw back and scored the next three points, trimming the lead to 24-16.  However, a service error ended the set and the game.

Junior Jenna Ross (Centerburg, Ohio) led Emmanuel with a double-double, as she recorded 10 kills and 10 digs while classmate Rebecca Stanton (Quincy, Mass.) had five kills and five blocks.  Senior Megan Clary (Cumberland, R.I.) had 12 digs with sophomore Yun-Ting Lee (Cambridge, Mass.) and sophomore Samantha Andazola (Queen Creek, Ariz.) had 11 and 10 digs, respectively.  Junior Kathryne Olsen (Fairhaven, Mass.) had 23 assists on the night.

Wentworth freshman Michelle Hobbs (Northwood, N.H.) had 10 kills and hit .381 to go along with two aces and four digs in the loss.  Sophomore Julie Rahilly (Nashua, N.H.) chipped in with six kills and seven digs, while junior Julie Bruton (Montgomery, Texas) recorded five kills.  Sophomore Rebecca Williams (Brockton, Mass.) had 21 assists on the night.

Emmanuel (1-5) travels to Western Connecticut Thursday night, while Wentworth (2-6) opens The Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Saturday with a home tri-match against Eastern Nazarene and Roger Williams at 11:00 and 3:00, respectively.