COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team rallied from down two sets to defeat Franklin Pierce University, 3-2 (21-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-22, 15-13), to cap the Windjammer Classic on Saturday in the Ross Sports Center. The Purple Knights lost earlier in the day to No. 18 Bentley University, 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-21). The Falcons, who national ranking is according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll, advanced to the 2024 NCAA Final Four.
 
Senior Ella Patterson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago) and junior Grace Almeida (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) were named to the all-tournament team for Saint Michael's, which hosted the largest tournament in program history, and its first since 1995. No. 12 University of Nebraska Kearney and East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania rounded out the field in the two-day, 10-match event.
 
Bentley Match
RECORDS

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

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Patterson, 9 kills, 13 digs
• Senior Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic), 5 kills
• Sophomore Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 7 digs
• Sophomore Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 4 kills, .667 hitting
• First-year Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth), 12 assists, 5 digs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Sophomore Sophia Poehlein, 10 kills
• Sophomore Tory Vitko, 28 assists, 11 digs, 3 blocks
• First-year Lulu Pavan, 14 kills

THE ACTION

• Junior Ashley Marshall's (Escondido, Calif./Escondido Charter) ace had Saint Michael's within 6-4 in the opening set before Vitko posted three assists and a block in a 6-0 response, and the margin was never again less than seven points.
• Patterson's kill kept the hosts within 11-8 in the second set, but Bentley netted the next five points to begin pulling away.
• Two Welch kills keyed the Purple Knights leading 5-1 in set No. 3, and Patterson's kill had her team up 10-8. The Falcons countered with the next four points to spark a 10-3 run and never looked back.

Franklin Pierce Match
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (1-3), Franklin Pierce (0-4)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Almeida, 9 kills, .467 hitting, 8 blocks, 3 aces
• Daggett, 30 digs, 3 aces
• Marshall, 20 assists
• Mediate, 26 assists, 15 digs
• Patterson, 8 kills, 17 digs, 4 blocks
• Welch, 11 kills, 4 blocks
• Junior Emily Winefield (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack), 3 aces
• Sophomore D'Niaya Settles (Ames, Iowa/Ames), 6 kills, 4 blocks
• First-year Rory Tower (Fountain Hills, Ariz./Desert Mountain), 11 kills, 8 blocks

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Katholiki Koukia, 14 kills
• Senior Avery LeBlanc, 11 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces
• Senior Annaka Lindstrom, 9 kills, 29 assists, 17 digs

MATCH FACTS

• The Purple Knights held significant leads on the defensive end on blocks (16-7) and digs (83-75).

THE ACTION

• Saint Michael's wiped out a five-point deficit with a 6-0 run that put it up 7-6 in the first set, but the Ravens put together a 12-4 response. The hosts rallied within two points three times before LeBlanc sealed the win with a kill.
• The Purple Knights erased a 17-8 hole in the second set with a tying 15-6 run, but the final two points went to the visitors.
• Down 6-3 in set No. 3, the Purple Knights scored 11 of the next 14 points to go up 14-9 on Almeida's ace. Patterson's kill capped an 8-2 closing flourish.
• Almeida and Settles combined for a block that provided the hosts a 9-2 lead in the fourth set, but first-year Jayne Hiatt's kill capped a big comeback that gave the Ravens an 18-16 edge. The next five points went to the hosts, and Tower notched a clinching kill to force a fifth set.
• The deciding set featured 11 ties and five lead changes, as neither team led by more than two points. The hosts were down 11-9 before Welch's back-to-back kills leveled the squads, and Settles downed a kill prior to the Ravens twice wiping out one-point deficits. In a 13-all contest, Mediate's diving dig found space on the other side of the net for her first career kill, and Almeida brought Saint Michael's out of a Raven timeout by notching the capping kill.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Tuesday at Middlebury College, 7 p.m.
• The Panthers advanced to the 2024 NCAA Division III Tournament Sweet 16.