BOSTON – Sophomore outside hitter Cassie Chruscielski's (Duluth, Minn.) 13 kills and 10 digs helped pace the Emmanuel College women's volleyball team to its fourth straight win as the Saints defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-0, in a non-conference contest played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win, Emmanuel improves to 10-8 on the season while the Leopards fall to .500, as they stand at 7-7.
The first set featured competitive play between the two teams, as each side exchanged leads multiple times throughout the set. Wentworth led the set 23-20, but a long rally between the teams turned the momentum in Emmanuel's favor, as the Saints rallied for five straight points. Chruscielski's ace sealed the deal for the first set, as the Saints won 25-23.
Emmanuel opened up the second set on a 6-0 run before Wentworth called timeout. With Wentworth down 24-23, sophomore middle hitter Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) fired a kill into Emmanuel's court to tie the set at 24. However, the Saints would score the next two points to take a 26-24 win.
The Saints held the lead throughout the third set and led by as much as nine. While Wentworth would trim the lead to as few as three, the Saints used a 7-0 run to extend their lead and eventually take close the match with a 25-19 win.
Junior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) had a match-leading 12 kills for Wentworth while freshman Sydney Meyers (Arnold, Md.) and Young had 10 and seven kills, respectively. Senior Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) had a match-high 30 assists and senior Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) recorded 14 digs. Young would also serve two aces and record a pair of blocks.
In addition to Chruscielski's 11 kills, sophomore Kaitlyn Atkinson (Brookline, N.H.) had seven kills and juniors Brittany Tutalo (Johnston, R.I.) Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) had five kills apiece. Tutalo also recorded six blocks. Junior Shannon Dudley (Morro Bay, Calif.) had 24 assists and senior Cara Callahan (Medway, Mass.) had 15 digs.
The Leopards will host Salve Regina on September 27 in a Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup, as Emmanuel travels to Colby-Sawyer for a tri-match also featuring Brandeis on Saturday.
