Monday, October 8, 2012 (Standish, ME)- With a commanding 2-0 lead, the Mount Ida College women's volleyball team suffered a 3-2 setback to the Monks of Saint Joseph's (ME), snapping a five game win streak.  After capturing the first two games by scores of (25-23), (25-23), the Monks stormed back to win the next three games by scores of (25-12), (25-23), and (15-11). 

Mount Ida was led by Trudy Goetchius (North Andover, MA/Lawrence Vocational) tallying 22 kills and 12 digs, Jennifer Ferreira (Shirley, MA/Ayer) 20 kills and 16 digs, Julie Smith (Richmond, Rhode Island/Richmond) 43 assists and 14 digs, and Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, NH/Bedford) 23 digs.

Mount Ida, which entered the day on a five-game winning streak, would not go down easily however, as the visitors raced out to a 9-4 lead in the fourth set with the help of kills from Shay Collins (Londonderry, N.H.), Smith and  Goetchius.  With the day's result hanging in the balance, SJC Head Coach Yamile Nolan called a timeout and her team responded by taking a 17-16 lead a short time later.

The Mustangs fought back and held a 23-19 edge after Goetchius belted a kill, but St. Joe's answered with six unanswered points, a run that included three Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) kills to close out the set and knot the match at 2-2.

Buoyed by a 5-0 start, St. Joe's never trailed in the deciding set. The Royal Blue utilized four Wachowiak kills to earn a 15-11 victory and a 3-2 triumph in what many would consider to be one of the most exciting SJC volleyball matches in recent memory.

Wachowiak paced the Monks with 16 kills to go with a spectacular .419 hitting percentage and three block assists while senior Sarah Hawkes (Pownal, Maine) tallied 15 kills and 32 digs on the afternoon. Senior setter Kiah Begley (Berwick, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) notched a match-high 45 assists along with 11 digs, six kills and three aces, Erica Russi (Debary, Fla.) produced 26 digs, and Alli Hollander (Thermal, Calif.) chipped in with seven kills and 13 digs. Holly Bannister (Cumberland, Maine) added seven kills and a pair of block assists and Emilee Penman (Uncasville, Conn.) contributed four kills and five total blocks in the victory.

With the win, the Monks improve to an overall record of (13-5) (4-3 GNAC) and the Mustangs drop to (7-11) (4-3 GNAC). 

The Mount Ida women's volleyball team is back in action on Thursday evening against the Lyons of Wheaton College with gametime scheduled for 7 p.m.

Some Content Courtesy of St. Joseph's College (ME) Sports Information