Box Score

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England women's volleyball team christened the new Harold Alfond Forum Thursday evening (Sep. 13) with a hard-fought, 3-2 victory over Saint Joseph's College (Maine). After falling in the 1st set by a 24-26 margin, UNE rebounded for wins in the 2nd (25-22), 3rd (25-20), and despite dropping the 4th (16-25), took the 5th by a 15-9 cushion.

The triumph was the 24th in-a-row for the Nor'easters (5-2) against Saint Joseph's, which was set back for the second straight outing (5-2).

Senior Paige Curran (Chelmsford, Mass.) and junior Angie Brunette (North Andover, Mass.) each notched 15 kills and combined to earn UNE six points off blocks. Curran also had four service aces on the night.

Junior Maria Kuehl (Middleton, N.H.) posted a double-double with 47 assists and 12 digs, and classmate Kirsta Adie (Tyngsboro, Mass.) dug out 11 balls while cleanly receiving all 20 of the serves that came her way.

Big Blue sophomore Leah Janelle (Madbury, N.H.) came off the bench to contribute 11 kills and eight digs to the winning cause.

For the Monks, first-year Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) totaled 19 kills and senior Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Maine) added 17 to go with 16 digs. Junior Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) had 15 digs to her credit, and senior Kiah Begley (Berwick, Maine) garnered 11 while putting up 48 assists.

The Nor'easters fell behind 17-10 in the first set, but rallied to gain a 21-19 edge. The next six points were exchanged in pairs to even things up at 23-23, and following a winner by the Nor'easters, a kill, a block, and an attack error on UNE gave the last three points to Saint Joseph's for a narrow victory.

Big Blue gained separation late in the second to make it a set-all, and used a 10-1 run early in the third frame en route to taking the 2-1 nod on the scoreboard.

The fourth was knotted at 9-9 before a Monks' 5-0 spurt gave the visitors the advantage. Though UNE claimed the next two points, Saint Joseph's closed with 11 of the last 16 to force a fifth and deciding set. The Nor'easters never trailed in the last one. 

UNE opens up Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Saturday (1 p.m.) versus Western New England University. The Monks are back at it the same day with a pair of matches at home against Anna Maria College and Framingham State University.



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