COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team capped the regular season with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-17) loss to regional power Bentley University during Northeast 10 Conference action on Saturday in the Ross Sports Center. The Falcons were first in the latest NCAA East Region rankings and received votes toward this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll.
 
Prior to the match, the Purple Knights honored seniors Ella Patterson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago) and Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic) as part of Senior Day.
 
Saint Michael's advances to the NE10 Championship for the third straight season this week. As the No. 5 seed, it visits No. 4 Southern Connecticut State University on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. first-round match.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (7-17, 4-5 NE10), Bentley (22-4, 9-0 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Patterson, 4 kills, 5 digs
• Welch, 9 kills
• Junior Ashley Marshall (Escondido, Calif./Escondido Charter), 10 assists, 5 digs
• Junior Emily Winefield (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack), 5 digs, 2 aces
• Sophomore Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 10 digs
• Sophomore Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 3 kills
• First-year Lillie King (Livermore, Calif./Carondelet), 7 kills
• First-year Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth), 14 assists
• First-year Rory Tower (Fountain Hills, Ariz./Desert Mountain), 3 kills, .375 hitting, 2 blocks

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Elena Coban, 11 kills, .714 hitting
• Sophomore Sophia Poehlein, 11 kills
• Sophomore Tory Vitko, 25 assists

THE ACTION

• The Purple Knights led 9-6 on King's kill in the first set before senior Hannah Rounds had three kills in Bentley's 11-2 response. The hosts trimmed the deficit to 24-22 on an error before Poehlein found the clinching kill.
• Bentley scored the first five points of the second set en route to leading 20-8 on Rounds' kill.
• The teams played through 11 ties and four lead changes in set No. 3. Schulze's kill had Saint Michael's up 12-11, but the Falcons scored the next five points and never again led by fewer than three points.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Tuesday at Southern Connecticut State, 5 p.m. in NE10 Championship first round.