BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman outside hitter Danielle Rose collected a match-high 16 kills to lead the Emmanuel College women's volleyball team past Norwich University, 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-19), Saturday afternoon at the Jean Yawkey Center. With the victory, the Saints improve to 11-15 overall and 5-3 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference while the loss drops the Cadets to 8-12 and 3-6 in the GNAC.

Norwich came out strong in the opening set, jumping ahead to a 6-1 lead before the Saints were able to respond and even the score at 7-7 following a kill by sophomore right side hitter Sarah Colby. EC would push ahead to a 14-11 lead after a kill by freshman middle hitter Brittany Tutalo but the Cadets were able to keep the score close with strong defensive play. A kill by freshman outside hitter Tara Lyons (Pocasset, Mass.) pulled NU to within a point at 18-17 but the visitors were never able to get the equalizer as the Saints were able to hold on for the 25-22 win.

Emmanuel carried the momentum into the second set and came out firing. Before the Cadets knew what hit them the Saints were on top, 12-1, forcing Norwich to expend its second timeout of the set. Rose led the way for EC in the frame with six kills and a .400 hitting percentage en route to a 25-17 win.

The hosts never trailed in the final set, racing out to an early 7-3 lead and protecting it all the way to the 25-19 win.

For the Saints, Tutalo finished the match with eight kills while freshman setter Shannon Dudley dished out a match-high 20 assists in the win. Defensively for EC, senior libero Yun-Ting Lee paced the effort with 21 digs while Dudley chipped in with 13.

For the Cadets, senior setter Gabrielle Miller (Grove City, Ohio) was one kill shy of a triple-double, notching 16 assists, 10 digs and nine kills. Lyons finished the match with eight kills and nine digs while sophomore libero Alex Palmer (South Windsor, Conn.) collected a team-best 12 digs for NU.

In the second match of the day for Norwich, the Cadets posted a 3-0 win against the AMCATS of Anna Maria College.  Game scores were 25-9, 25-21, and 25-23. 

Leading the way for the Cadets was Haley Vermes (Westborough, Mass.), who totaled a team-high nine kills. MaryRose Meany (Goshen, N.Y.) contributed to the victory with six kills while Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.) added five.  

Palmer paced the Cadets' defense by totaling a match-high 19 digs.  Lyons contributed 11 digs for Norwich, while Miller dished out 23 assists. 

The Cadets boasted a .139 hitting percentage on the afternoon while holding the AMCATS to a negative attack percentage. 

Norwich returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 24 as it travels to Castleton for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference matchup. 

Courtesy of Emmanuel College Sports Information