COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team held off Assumption University, 3-2 (25-23, 25-18, 23-25, 25-27, 15-10), during Northeast 10 Conference play on Saturday in the Ross Sports Center. Behind their third straight win, the Purple Knights pushed their lead for fifth place in the NE10 to 1.5 matches over Franklin Pierce University with three contests remaining. The league's top seven teams qualify for the postseason.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (7-13, 4-2 NE10), Assumption (5-17, 1-4 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Ella Patterson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago), 14 kills, 12 digs
• Senior Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 7 kills, 3 blocks
• Junior Grace Almeida (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), 6 kills, .600 hitting, 4 blocks
• Junior Ashley Marshall (Escondido, Calif./Escondido Charter), 21 assists
• Junior Emily Winefield (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack), 7 digs, 2 aces
• Sophomore Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 8 digs, 7 aces (career high), 6 assists
• Sophomore Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 10 kills, 8 digs
• First-year Lillie King (Livermore, Calif./Carondelet), 14 kills (career high), 8 digs, 3 blocks
• First-year Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth), 29 assists (career high), 19 digs
• First-year Rory Tower (Fountain Hills, Ariz./Desert Mountain), 10 kills, 7 digs, 5 blocks

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Tatiana Calderin, 13 digs
• Senior Marissa Krawczyk, 17 assists
• Junior Grace Presswood, 9 kills, 13 digs
• Sophomore Natalie Brojek, 18 assists
• Sophomore Lily Petrocelli, 14 kills, 8 blocks

MATCH FACTS

• Tower's 78 blocks this season tie Katie Ouellette '06 (2003) for eighth in program history, and Almeida slides into 10th at 74. Almeida is alone in third in career block assists (138) and matched Stephanie Bambury '09 for sixth in total blocks (169).
• The Purple Knights won their fourth straight from the Greyhounds.
• Saint Michael's held leads in kills (61-52), hitting (.174-.121), aces (11-8) and digs (77-70).
• The Purple and Gold has won four NE10 matches in three consecutive seasons for the first time.

THE ACTION

• Down 6-2 in the first set, the Purple Knights rallied behind the strong service of Winefield with the next four points, as neither team again led by more than two points. In a 23-23 contest, King and Patterson converted consecutive kills.
• Again down four points early in the second set, Saint Michael's began coming back from 5-1 and 6-2 deficits after Winefield stepped to the service line, going ahead 8-7 on King's kill. The hosts used a 9-3 run to break open a 10-9 set, with Schulze dropping two kills, and the visitors never climbed closer than four points.
• Set No. 3 featured 13 ties and five lead changes, as neither team led by more than two points until consecutive Daggett aces made it 14-11. Petrocelli's ace later capped a quick 3-0 run that put Assumption up 19-17, and the visitors never again trailed. Sophomore Nora Sharkey and Presswood notched consecutive kills to snap a 23-all tie.
• Assumption scored the first four points of the fourth set and never relinquished the lead. Tower's kill tied the teams at 25 before consecutive errors allowed the visitors to force a deciding fifth stanza.
• Almeida and Welch combined on a block for the first point of the fifth set, giving the hosts the lead for good. King's kill made it 7-3, and Patterson's had her team up 9-5. After three straight Greyhound points, Tower notched a kill out of a timeout, sparking a clinching 6-2 run.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Nov. 8 at Adelphi University, 1 p.m.