SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team lost twice to 2023 NCAA Tournament qualifiers on Friday during the International Volleyball Hall of Fame East Region Clash at American International College's Butova Gymnasium. The Purple Knights fell against the University of Bridgeport, 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-2), and host AIC, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-10).
 
MATCH FACTS

• The East Region Clash also features Southern New Hampshire University, which Saint Michael's faces on Saturday. All three Purple Knight opponents qualified for the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
• Saint Michael's opposed Bridgeport for the first all-Purple Knight match-up since 2007.
• Bridgeport won the 2023 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship.

Bridgeport Match
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (3-7), Bridgeport (7-4)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 38 assists, 17 digs, 7 kills
• Senior Aaliyah Huihui-Martinez (Salinas, Calif./Notre Dame), 8 digs
• Senior Jillian Orth (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), 23 digs
• Junior Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 15 kills
• Sophomore Kyla Farnan (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle), 25 digs, 6 assists
• First-year Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 8 digs
• First-year Mahili McKay (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd), 8 kills
• First-year Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 11 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces
• First-year D'Niaya Settles (Ames, Iowa/Ames), 6 kills

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Jaden Drollinger, 43 assists, 15 digs, 7 kills, 4 blocks, 3 aces
• Junior Paola Hernandez, 10 kills, 11 digs
• First-year Hailey Jessen, 13 kills
• First-year Grace Presswood, 10 kills, 15 digs

THE ACTION

• Saint Michael's trailed by as many as four points in the opening set before scoring the final three points to snap a 22-all tie, with Settles and Farnan dropping kills in the final run.
• Bridgeport led 5-0 in the second set before McKay and Schulze both contributed a pair of kills in a tying 10-5 run, but Bridgeport scored the next seven points to take control.
• In a 17-17 set No. 3, Bridgeport took the lead for good on a service error before slowly pulling away.
• In the fourth set, Saint Michael's was down only 18-17 following Welch's kill, but Bridgeport countered with a 5-1 run and never again led by fewer than three points.

AIC Match
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (3-8), AIC (3-6)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Báez Rentas, 20 assists, 7 digs
• Daggett, 12 digs
• Farnan, 11 digs
• McKay, 7 kills
• Schulze, 6 kills
• Welch, 6 kills 

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Perla Rosa, 8 digs
• Sophomore Victoria Mendez, 25 assists, 7 digs, 6 kills, 5 aces
• First-year Aleksandra Lucic, 9 kills, 4 blocks, .643 hitting

THE ACTION

• In the opening set, the Purple Knights trimmed a six-point deficit to 18-17 on Báez Rentas' ace, but Lucic had two kills and a block in an ensuing 6-0 run.
• Welch's kill had Saint Michael's within 5-4 in the second set, but AIC used three Mendez kills to build a 5-1 response and never again lead by fewer than four points.
• In set No. 3, the Yellow Jackets scored the first five points en route to a 13-1 lead.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Saturday vs. Southern New Hampshire, 4 p.m. at International Volleyball Hall of Fame East Region Clash.