Saint Michael's College

COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's volleyball team split a home-opening tri-match on Saturday in the Ross Sports Center. After suffering a 3-2 (25-23, 26-24, 17-25, 19-25, 15-13) loss to Felician University, the Purple Knights rallied past Assumption University, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-19).
 
TRI-MATCH FACTS

• The Purple and Gold dropped 15 aces in both matches.
• Saint Michael's hosted Felician for the first time in five all-time meetings.
• The Purple Knights and Assumption, Northeast 10 Conference foes, played a non-league match.
• Felician blanked Assumption, 3-0, in the middle match during the day.

Felician Match
RECORDS

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

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Rory Tower (Fountain Hills, Ariz./Desert Mountain), 13 kills, .400 hitting, 9 blocks
• Sophomore Tessa LaFrenier (Narragansett, R.I./North Kingstown/Adelphi), 12 kills, 11 digs
• Sophomore Lillie King (Livermore, Calif./Carondelet), 10 kills, 3 blocks
• Junior Nora Schulze (Hingham, Mass./Hingham), 9 kills, 4 blocks
• Sophomore Abby Crowley (Westerly, R.I./La Salle Academy), 26 assists, 5 aces, 5 digs
• Senior Ashley Marshall (Escondido, Calif./Escondido Charter), 11 assists
• First-year Sarah Gordon (Dyer, Ind./Marian Catholic), 23 digs, 5 aces, 4 assists
• Junior Anna Daggett (Hinesburg, Vt./Champlain Valley Union), 8 digs, 3 aces

OPPONENT LEADERS

• First-year Peyton Kellam, 22 kills, .500 hitting, 3 aces
• Junior Sandra Galas, 16 kills, 16 digs, 4 aces
• First-year Bentley Rone, 39 assists, 11 digs
• Senior Kayden Mallette, 23 digs, 3 aces

THE ACTION

• Neither team led by more than four points in the opening set. King and Tower combined on a block that gave the Purple Knights a 23-21 edge, but Kellam notched consecutive kills to cap a 4-0 finish.
• Tower turned in two kills and a block to key a 6-0 run that gave the hosts a 15-7 lead in the second set, and they were still up 19-13 after a King kill. The Golden Falcons capped a go-ahead 10-3 run thanks to an attack error (23-22) before Marshall and Tower's tandem block had Saint Michael's ahead 24-23. However, Galas notched two kills and a block across a closing 3-0 stretch.
• Three kills and a block from Tower keyed a 7-0 run that put the Purple and Gold up 20-10 in set No. 3, and the lead never again shrunk to less than seven.
• Schulze's kill for the opening point of the fourth set gave the Purple Knights the lead for good, as the hosts went up 5-1 and never again led by less than two points. Tower's clinching kill leveled the match.
• LaFrenier's pair of kills came amid a 5-1 run in the fifth set that had Saint Michael's in front 7-3, but Galas notched a kill and an ace during a go-ahead 7-3 run (11-10). The lead changed hands twice more before Kellam dropped the winning kill.

Assumption Match
RECORDS

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

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Tower, 9 kills, 3 aces
• LaFrenier, 8 kills, 9 digs
• King, 7 kills
• Schulze, 7 kills
• Junior D'Niaya Settles (Ames, Iowa/Ames), 7 kills
• Crowley, 17 assists, 3 aces
• Marshall, 10 assists
• Gordon, 17 digs, 4 aces
• Daggett, 9 digs
• Sophomore Caitlin Mediate (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth), 3 aces

OPPONENT LEADERS

• First-year Kendall Larkin, 11 kills
• Junior Kaitlyn Montgomery, 9 kills
• Sophomore Brooke Bowbliss, 27 assists
• Sophomore Makenna Glenn, 12 digs, 6 aces

THE ACTION

• The Purple Knights forged a 4-0 lead in the opening set before the Greyhounds used a 14-4 run to take control at 20-13 on Larkin and Montgomery's dual block. The hosts never came closer than three points.
• The teams played through seven ties and six lead changes in the second set. The Purple Knights held three four-point leads - the largest for either team - before consecutive aces by Glenn gave the visitors a 22-21 edge. Schulze countered with a tying kill before Gordon closed the set with three straight aces.
• After the teams traded kills for the opening two points of set No. 3, the Purple and Gold rattled off seven straight points to forge ahead for good. Assumption rallied within 19-18 on first-year Cate Wettstone's kill, but LaFrenier had two kills in a 5-0 response before also notching the clinching kill.
• Down 4-3 in the fourth set, Saint Michael's scored the next seven points to take command. Glenn's ace brought Assumption within 21-18, but the hosts scored four of the final five points, including the last two on Tower kills.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S MATCH

• Friday against Bemidji State University, 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT during California State University San Marcos' Cougar Classic.