WORCESTER, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team downed Assumption University in five sets for the second time this year, taking a 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 15-25, 22-25, 15-9) decision on Saturday during Northeast-10 Conference play in Laska Gymnasium. Senior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions) became the sixth player in program history to reach 1,000 digs during the match.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (7-13, 3-3 NE10), Assumption (6-13, 1-4 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 45 assists, 9 digs, 7 kills, .700 hitting
• Senior Jillian Orth (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), 9 digs, 4 assists, 2 aces
• Junior Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 10 kills, 3 blocks
• Sophomore Grace Almeida (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), 11 kills, 3 blocks, 2 aces, .435 hitting
• Sophomore Emily Winefield (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack), 13 digs, 2 aces
• First-year Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 22 digs, 4 assists
• First-year Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 10 kills, 3 blocks
• First-year D'Niaya Settles (Ames, Iowa/Ames), 20 kills, 12 digs, 4 aces, .312 hitting

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Anna Dean, 12 kills
• Senior Alexis Distasio, 11 kills
• Senior Carly Goodhue, 12 kills
• Senior Barbara Illig, 23 digs
• Junior Marissa Krawczyk, 25 assists
• First-year Marisa Billone, 20 assists

MATCH FACTS

• Báez Rentas, the lone player in program history among the top 10 in both career assists (1,958) and digs (1,008), not only became the sixth Purple Knight with 1,000 digs but passed Katie Herb '04 (1,006) to take over fifth in program history on Saturday. Báez Rentas is the sole setter in school history with 1,000 digs.
• In an even match, both teams attempted 155 attacks and had eight blocks, while Assumption had an 11-10 edge in aces. The Purple Knights claimed slim leads in kills (58-52) and points (76-71) but created separation thanks to their 73-58 lead in digs.
• The teams played through only nine ties and five lead changes in the entire match, including four and three, respectively, in the fourth set alone.

THE ACTION

• Assumption led 14-8 in the opening set on first-year Kaitlyn Montgomery's block, but Welch had a kill and block in a 5-0 counter in what became a clinching 17-8 run. Almeida's kill put her team up for good at 20-19.
• Settles dropped a kill and an ace on back-to-back second-set points to snap a 7-all tie, sparking a 4-0 run that put Saint Michael's in front to stay. The Greyhounds never came closer than two points from there.
• Assumption scored the first eight points of set No. 3 and never looked back.
• Neither team led by more than three points in the fourth set until a visitor attack error made it 13-9 in favor of the hosts. The Purple Knights twice crept within one point and were down 24-22 when Almeida and Welch combined for a block, but Goodhue's kill forced a fifth and deciding set.
• With Winefield at the service line, Saint Michael's scored the first four points of the final stanza thanks to an ace by Winefield and kills from Settles and Welch. An attack error had the Purple Knights up 10-5 before Distasio's pair of kills capped a 3-0 run to trim the deficit to two points. However, Schulze and Báez Rentas responded with consecutive kills to kick off a clinching 5-1 stretch.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Saturday vs. University of New Haven, 1 p.m.