Box Score STANDISH, Maine – Melissa Lail (Elizabeth, Colo.) recorded 14 kills, 17 digs and four aces to lead Maine Maritime Academy to a 3-0 sweep of Saint Joseph's (Maine) Thursday evening. The Mariners (16-3) edged the Monks (13-7) in three tight games, 25-22, 28-26, 28-26.
Tied at 21-21 in the first game, Chantal Adderley (Nassau, Bahamas) cashed in on one of Jennifer Dixon's (Ellicott City, Md.) 22 assists on the night. Dixon also posted 17 digs in the match. A pair of St. Joseph's attack errors followed Adderly's kill before Lail finished a Dixon pass to secure the opening set.
The Monks raced out to a 5-0 lead in the second before a Lail kill got the Mariners moving. Three consecutive kills from Dixon, Lail, and Sydney Robertson (Barnstead, N.H.) knotted the score at 7-7. Maine Maritime extended the lead to four points twice, the second time, 17-13, when Robertson recorded a kill then served up an ace for consecutive points.
The balanced attack of St. Joseph's went to work, with Emilee Penman and Kristin Palladino cutting into the Mariners lead. Palladino posted nine kills on the night to lead the Monks, while Penman offered six. Behind their efforts throughout the game, St. Joseph's pushed ahead to set point with a three-point edge in the second. A Palladino service error cut the gap to two before Betsy Trenckmann (La Veta, Colo.) went to the floor on an assist from Dixon. A Lail ace served at Palladino knotted it at 24-24.
Knotted at 26 apiece, MMA slid ahead on a Monks attack error. Dixon finished off the set with a kill setup by Adderly.
The third set was just as tight, but ended on back-to-back serves. St. Joseph's Jordan Pelczar failed to put the ball in play before Lauren Sakahara (Bellvue, Wash.) recorded the Mariners 11th ace of the night to secure the 14th MMA sweep of the season.
The Mariners will face the University of Southern Maine and the University of New England on Saturday.
