COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team opened its season with a pair of five-setters on Saturday in the Ross Sports Center during its first home tri-match in 17 years. The Purple Knights lost their opener to Plymouth State University, 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-11), before rebounding to down Assumption University, 3-2 (25-17, 25-11, 21-25, 21-25, 15-13). Plymouth State also defeated Assumption, 3-1.
 
Plymouth State Match
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (0-1), Plymouth State (3-0)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 20 assists, 21 digs, 5 kills, 2 aces, .364 hitting
• Senior Aaliyah Huihui-Martinez (Salinas, Calif./Notre Dame), 9 digs
• Senior Jillian Orth (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), 13 digs
• Sophomore Grace Almeida (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), 9 kills, 2 blocks, .389 hitting
• Sophomore Kyla Farnan (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle), 17 digs, 5 aces, 5 assists
• Sophomore Ashley Marshall (Escondido, Calif./Escondido Charter), 21 assists
• First-year Kaeleigh Cucura (Redmond, Ore./Ridgeview), 3 blocks
• First-year Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 19 kills, 8 digs, 3 blocks, 2 aces
• First-year D'Niaya Settles (Ames, Iowa/Ames), 11 kills, 15 digs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Nora Ryan, 18 kills, 7 blocks, .500 hitting
• Senior Makayla Marucci, 26 digs, 10 assists
• Senior Lindsey Sanderson, 11 kills, 6 blocks
• First-year Danielle Emerson, 41 assists, 5 aces

THE ACTION

• After the Purple Knights led by as much as 14-9 in the opening set, sophomore Emma Hampton had three kills in a 5-0 Panther run that gave them a 16-15 edge. Farnan dropped two aces in a 9-2 stretch that gave the hosts set point and, after five straight points by the visitors made it 24-23, Almeida dropped a clinching kill.
• Neither team led by more than four points in the second set, when the Purple Knights wiped out a 17-15 deficit with a closing 10-3 run, keyed by two kills and two aces from Schulze.
• Three straight Farnan aces helped the hosts lead 8-3 in set No. 3 before the Panthers used an 11-2 stretch to lead 15-11, ultimately pushing the lead to 22-15. Cucura had two blocks and a kill in a tying 7-0 run, and the teams exchanged points before Plymouth State won the set thanks to consecutive host attack errors.
• Saint Michael's led 3-2 in the fourth set, but the Panthers slowly built their lead to 17-8 and never led by fewer than seven points from there to force a fifth set.
• In the deciding frame, Plymouth State pushed a 5-4 edge to 11-6 behind two kills from first-year Cami Wessels, but the next five points went to the Purple Knights, with four coming on Schulze kills. However, the Panthers used their block to key a clinching 4-0 run, denying attacks for each of the final three points.

Assumption Match
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (1-1), Assumption (0-2)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Almeida, 16 kills, 9 digs, 3 blocks, .556 hitting
• Báez Rentas, 48 assists, 22 digs
• Cucura, 6 blocks
• Farnan, 13 digs, 6 assists, 2 aces
• Orth, 14 digs
• Schulze, 17 kills
• Settles, 8 kills, 18 digs
• Junior Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 12 kills, 4 blocks

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Alexis Distasio, 11 kills, 15 digs
• Senior Barabara Illig, 28 digs
• First-year Natalie Brojek, 32 assists, 12 digs

MATCH FACTS

• The Purple Knights defeated Assumption at home for the first time since Sept. 26, 2017.
• The Northeast-10 Conference foes met in non-league play.

THE ACTION

• Schulze notched two kills in a 3-0 run that snapped a 3-3 tie and gave the Purple Knights the lead for good in the opening set.
• During the second set, Saint Michael's tallied a 10-1 run to break a 6-6 tie and pull away. Welch recorded a pair of kills in that time.
• Neither team led by more than four points in set No. 3, when a tying 5-1 jaunt by the hosts wiped out an 18-14 deficit, with Welch's kill tying the teams at 19. Brojek's kill on the next point gave the Greyhounds the lead for good.
• The hosts scored five of the first six points in the fourth set and still led 8-4 before Assumption rallied to force five ties and eventually lead 19-16 on an attack error. Báez Rentas' kill capped a go-ahead 4-0 run, and the Purple Knights were up 21-20 following a service error. However, first-year Kaitlyn Montgomery keyed a clinching 5-0 run with two kills, including at set point.
• The fifth and deciding set featured six ties, including as Saint Michael's had an 8-5 lead erased by a 3-0 Assumption stretch, with Distasio's kill forcing the final knot. Schulze put down kills for the next two points before Cucura and Welch combined on a block to cap a 4-0 run. The visitors rallied within one point three times, but a service error by the Greyhounds provided Saint Michael's the clinching point.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Tuesday vs. Middlebury College, 7 p.m.
• The Panthers qualified for the 2023 NCAA Division III Tournament.