Women’s Volleyball Earns First GNAC Win In Four Years

PAXTON, MA : The Anna Maria College women's volleyball team picked up their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win of the season as they split their Saturday tri-match against visiting Lasell University and Albertus Magnus College on Saturday in Paxton, falling in straight sets to the Lasers in the opener, 25-22, 25-12, 25-11, before surviving a hard-fought four-setter against the Falcons, 26-24, 30-28, 21-25, 25-20, in the finale.

THE BASICS:                           

• Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021
• Score: Lasell 3, Anna Maria 0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-11)
• Score: Anna Maria 3, Albertus Magnus 1 (26-24, 30-28, 21-25, 25-20)
• Records: Lasers of Lasell 12-5, 4-1 GNAC | Falcons of Albertus Magnus 2-14, 0-6 GNAC |
  AMCATS of Anna Maria 5-12, 1-5 GNAC

HOW IT HAPPENED – ANNA MARIA vs. ALBERTUS MAGNUS:

• Anna Maria junior middle blocker Ryann Hassett (North Oxford, MA) led the AMCATS against the Falcons, with 17 kills, three block assists and a team-best .256 hitting percentage.
• AMCAT sophomore setter Julia Tarantino (Pembroke, MA) led the AMCATS with a career-high 32 set assists to go along with 11 kills, 19 digs, three service aces and one block.
• Anna Maria junior libero Serena Dennis (Holyoke, MA) led the AMCAT defense with 28 digs to go along with five aces and six set assists.
• AMCAT senior outside hitter Julia Rutkowski (Coventry, CT) added 13 kills and 19 digs.
• In the first set, the AMCATS found themselves trailing 9-2 out of the gate and still trailed 22-15 late before storming back, closing out the match on an incredible 11-2 run off the serve of senior outside hitter Jenna Grande (Whitman, MA).
• The second set was again a battle, with Albertus serving for set point three times late. Anna Maria held, however, closing it out with three straight points including a critical kill from Rutkowski.
• After dropping the third set, the AMCATS would take control in the fourth, jumping out to a 7-3 lead and never trailing after that. A kill by Hassett sealed it late as the team celebrated their first conference win since a October 7, 2017 win over the University of Saint Joseph's, a span of more than four year at 1464 days.
• Albertus Magnus junior outside hitter Diana Kalman (East Haven, CT) led the Falcons with 11 kills, four service aces and 14 digs while freshman middle hitter Elayna Beutel (Prospect, CT) posted 14 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED – ANNA MARIA vs. LASELL

• Rutkowski led the AMCATS against the Lasers, with five kills, six digs and an ace in three sets. Tarantino posted 11 set assists with eight digs.
• Lasell freshman outside hitter Mckenna McCool (Loomis, CA) was dominant, with 17 kills, 13 service aces and 16 digs. Senior setter Jess Langan (Burnt Hills, NY) set the table with 29 set assists and four digs.

UP NEXT:

Anna Maria will look to make it two in a row on Tuesday evening when they play host to the Monks of Saint Joseph's College in a 6:00 p.m. match.

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