Women’s Volleyball Powers Past St. Joseph College (Conn.), 3-1

Box Score

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior outside hitter Stacy Croteau (Agawam, Mass.) downed a match-high 16 kills and added 14 digs to help spark the Blazers to a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-15) victory over St. Joseph College (Conn.) in Thursday evening's non-conference women's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms snaps its four-match losing streak to improve to 6-12 overall, while St. Joseph slides to 5-12 on the season.

After St. Joseph took a 1-0 lead in the match, Elms rallied to win the next three frames powered by senior setter Jennifer Rego (Fall River, Mass.) who dished out 36 assists in the winning effort.

The Blazers held a slim 22-19 advantage in the second set before a kill by St. Joseph's Amanda Dondero (Mastic, N.Y.) and an Elms attacking error brought the Blue Jays to within one at 22-21. The Blazers extended the cushion to 24-21 behind a kill from sophomore opposite hitter Rachel Cowan (Ellington, Conn.) and a St. Joseph ball handling error before Dondero and Megan Williams (Lakeville, Conn.) responded with kills to pull the Blue Jays to within one at 24-23. Rego sealed the set for Elms with a kill evening the contest at one set apiece.

In the third set, the sides played to four ties and three lead changes before the Blazers opened up a 17-10 lead. A pair of Jessica Patrizi (Beacon Falls, Conn.) service aces helped St. Joseph creep to within two at 18-16 but that's as close as it would get as Elms used a kill by sophomore outside hitter Christina Martin (Chicopee, Mass.) to cap the set three win at 25-20.

The fourth stanza saw the Blazers cruise to an 11-4 lead and hit a stellar .353 as a team for the frame as Elms concluded the match with a 25-15 output. Rego handed out 12 assists and Croteau and Martin floored five kills each in the set to help the Blazers seal the match.

Martin finished with 11 kills and a team-high 17 digs, while Cowan smashed nine kills and registered a pair of solo blocks. Freshman opposite hitter Jacqueline Brault (Chicopee, Mass.) added two solo stuffs, while Rego added five kills and eight digs in addition to her 36 helpers.

Freshman libero Caitlyn Larvey (Greenfield, Mass.) was solid in the back row digging 10 balls, while senior defensive specialist Anne Blanchette (Byfield, Mass.) added nine digs.

Croteau finished with six aces, while Rego totaled four, and senior middle hitter Annette Dzidek (Chicopee, Mass.) contributed with four kills in the winning effort.

Patrizi was tremendous in defeat, downing six kills, 18 assists and notching 10 digs, while Elizabeth Tuazon (Mystic, Conn.) tallied a match-high 18 digs. 

Michelle DiPinto (Burlington, Conn.) added six kills, while Ciara Perez (Manchester, Conn.) amassed 13 digs in the loss.

Elms returns to action Saturday, Oct. 8 when it hosts a tri-match with New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) rival Becker College at 11:00 a.m. and Albertus Magnus College at 3:00 p.m. at Picknelly Arena.