Volleyball
Souza Voted All-GNAC Second Team
WEST HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 9, 2009 – Saint Joseph College junior middle hitter Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) was named second-team All-GNAC it was announced by the league today.
Souza led St. Joseph in kills (338), aces (52), blocks (74) and hitting percentage (.290). She has led the team in kills, blocks and hitting percentage for three years.
The Blue Jays finished 12-15, an improvement of three victories over 2008.
Souza had a season-high 25 kills in a five-set victory against Mt. Holyoke Sept. 26 and 22 in a four-set win over Bard Oct. 27. She had 10 or more kills 21 times this season. Souza had been a third team All-GNAC selections the past two years.
Volleyball Season Ends
BOSTON, Mass., Oct. 31, 2009 – Saint Joseph College finished its season dropping a pair of GNAC matches Saturday at Emerson College.
St. Joseph lost to Emmanuel 3-1 (10-25, 13-25, 25-18, 10-25) and Emerson, 3-0 (16-25, 11-25, 10-25). St. Joseph junior Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) had 11 kills, 13 digs and five blocks against Emmanuel and seven kills, eight digs and two digs versus Emerson.
Senior Alina Capatina (El Mirage, Ariz.) had six aces against Emmanuel.
St. Joseph finished 12-15 overall and 2-10 in the GNAC. The win total surpassed the 2008 season by three victories.
Home Schedule Ends With Win
WEST HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 27, 2009 – St. Joseph College defeated Bard Tuesday night, 3-1 in the final home match of the season. Game scores were 25-15, 25-18, 13-25, 25-18.
Before the match, seniors Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) and Alina Capatina (El Mirage, Ariz.) were honored prior to their final home match.
Capatina, who was born in Romania and graduated from UConn with a degree in Health Promotions, is pursuing a nursing degree and joined the team for one season.
"Alina has been a nice addition to the team this season," St. Joseph coach Val Briggs said. "Alina is a smart hitter on the court. She has a great sense of humor and will always make her patients smile."
Irwin has been a three-year starter after transferring from Western Conn. and been first or second on the team in most statistical categories for three years.
"Her agility, quickness and athleticism make her a coach's dream," Briggs said. "She is a great person to be around and will surely be missed."
St. Joseph junior Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) led the Blue Jays with 22 kills and Irwin had nine kills and 13 digs. Freshman Jen Braun (Bloomfield, Conn.) had 22 assists and freshman Fransiola Cekolli (Waterbury, Conn.) had 16 digs.
The Blue Jays finish the regular season Saturday at Emmanuel against both Emerson and Emmanuel.
Blue Jays win thriller over Newbury
BROOKLINE, Mass., Oct. 21, 2009 – St. Joseph rallied from a two-game deficit to score a stirring 3-2 victory at Newbury Wednesday.
Newbury took the lead by winning the first two games 20-13 and 27-25, but the Blue had begun to gain momentum. St. Joseph pulled even by winning the next two games 25-20 and 25-17. Despite a four-point run by Newbury in the deciding game, St. Joseph emerged with a 15-11 victory to win the match.
St. Joseph junior Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) led the way for the Blue Jays with a match-high 20 kills, 16 digs and three aces. Senior Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) had 18 kills, 15 digs and five aces. Freshmen Jen Braun (Bloomfield, Conn.) with 40 assists and Fransiola Cekolli (Waterbury, Conn.) with 13 digs also made key contributions.
St. Joseph won its fourth consecutive match to even its record for the season at 11-11. Newbury is 9-18.
the Blue Jays face Simmons and Lasell Saturday Oct. 24 at Simmons and play their final regular-season home match, Tue. Oct. 27 against Bard at 7 p.m.
Blue Jays finish 3-0 week
WEST HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 17, 2009 — The St. Joseph College volleyball team finished a perfect week that ended with its first three-match win streak of the season. St. Joseph swept three opponents in six days and Saturday the Blue Jays defeated GNAC opponent Pine Manor 25-11, 25-18, 25-20.
St. Joseph junior Brittany Souza (Newington, CT) capped an outstanding week with 12 kills on 20 attempts and served seven aces to lead the way. Senior Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) had seven kills and seven aces for the Blue Jays and freshman setter Jen Braun (Blooomfield, CT) had 18 assists.
The Blue Jays are now 10-11 overall and 2-6 in GNAC play. Pine Manor is 1-16, 0-9.
St. Joseph returns to action Wednesday, Oct. 21 at Newbury College at 7 p.m. the Blue Jays play their final regular-season home game, Tue. Oct. 27 against Bard at 7 p.m.
Souza strong in another victory
NEW LONDON, Conn., Oct. 14, 2009 — Junior Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) contributed in many ways with 13 kills, 14 digs, four blocks and four aces as St. Joseph won its second match of the week by sweeping Mitchell Wednesday night. The Blue Jays won by scores of 25-21, 25-13, 25-23.
St. Joseph improved to 9-11 on the season and Mitchell is 4-6.
Senior Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) had nine kills for St. Joseph and freshman Michelle DiPinto (Burlington, Conn.) had six kills and three aces.
The Blue Jays host Pine Manor Sat. Oct. 17 at noon.
Blue Jays return to win column
WEST HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 12, 2009 — St. Joseph College rebounded from two Saturday defeats with a 3-0 sweep of Bay Path Monday night in a non-league match at the O'Connell Center. Game scores were 25-10, 25-23, 25-17.
Junior Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) had 13 kills to lead the attack and senior Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) had eight.
Freshman setter Jen Braun (Bloomfield, Conn.) had 19 digs and 18 assists for St. Joseph and freshman libero Fransiola Cekolli (Waterbury, Conn.) had 13 digs.
St. Joseph is now 8-11 overall and Baypath is 1-14. Souza had a combined 20 kills Saturday, but the Blue Jays were swept by Rivier and Norwich.
St. Joseph plays at Mitchell Wednesday Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. and returns home for a 1 p.m. match against Pine Manor.
St. Joseph sweeps Elms
WEST HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 7, 2009 — Senior outside hitter Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) had 15 kills and 11 digs to lead the St. Joseph College volleyball team team a 3-0 victory Wednesday over Elms college in a non-conference match at the O'Connell Center.
Game scores were 25-21, 25-22, 25-19.
St. Joseph junior Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) was also a force at the net and finished with 10 kills and five blocks. Freshmen Fransiola Cekolli (Waterbury, Conn.) and Katelyn Morency (Vernon, Conn.) keyed the defensive effort with 15 and 11 digs, respectively.
St. Joseph improved to 7-9 overall and has won seven of its past 12 matches after opening the season with four losses. Elms is 3-14.
The Blue Jays play at Rivier Saturday Oct. 10 against Rivier and Norwich. Their next home game is Monday Oct. 12 against Bay Path (7 p.m.)
Blue Jays go 1-1 in conference matches
WEST HARTFORD, Conn., October 3, 2009—The St. Joseph College volleyball team split two GNAC matches Saturday at the O’Connell Center. The Blue Jays defeated Albertus Magnus and lost to Mt. Ida. Both matches went three games.
St. Joseph (6-9 overall, 1-4 GNAC) defeated Albertus (2-8, 1-5) for its first conference victory of the season, 25-12, 25-11, 25-9. St. Joseph junior Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) had a team-high 12 kills and freshman Michelle DiPinto (Burlington, Conn.) had eight. Freshman Jennifer Braun (Bloomfield, Conn.) had 23 assists for the Blue Jays.
Mt. Ida (10-7, 4-3) defeated St. Joseph, 25-20, 28-26, 27-25. Souza again led the offense with 13 kills and senior Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) had seven kills and 14 digs. Freshman Fransiola Cekolli (Waterbury, Conn.) had 33 digs, including 20 in Game 2 and junior Krystal Myers (Newington, Conn.) had 22 for the match.
St. Joseph hosts Elms Wednesday Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
Blue Jays push Camels in loss
WEST HARTFORD, Sept. 29, 2009 --St. Joseph College built leads in the first two games, but lost a three-game match Tuesday night to Conn. College Tuesday at the O'Connell Center.
Game scores were 25-23, 25-19, 25-9. Conn. College improved to 10-3; St. Joseph is 5-8.
St. Joseph senior Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) had five of her team-high seven kills in Game 1, in which St. Joseph had an early 10-3 lead. The Blue Jays also built an 11-5 lead in Game 2.
Freshman Fransiola Cekolli (Waterbury Conn.) had 15 digs and junior Krystal Myers (Bristol, Conn.) had eight for St. Joseph.
"We played with a lot of heart tonight," St. Joseph coach Val Briggs said. "Conn. is a good team in a tough conference and to compete the way we did shows a lot."
Senior Meg Christman (Wilington, Del.) had seven kills and freshman Katie Ketcham (San Francisco, Cal.) 26 assists and six aces for Conn.
St. Joseph hosts Mt. Ida (11 a.m.) and Albertus Magnus (3 p.m.) Sat. Oct. 3.
Blue Jays Drop 3-1 Decision to MCLA on the Road
NORTH ADAMS, Mass,. Sept. 5, 2009 – The MCLA Volleyball team opened the 2009 season with a 3-1 victory over the Saint Joseph College (Conn.) Blue Jays.
The Trailblazers came out strong in the first two games winning by scores of 25-18 and 25-19. The Blue Jays roared back in Game 3 behind Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) and Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) winning 25-15. The Blue Jays couldn’t carry over the momentum in Game 4; five service errors by the Blue Jays gave the Trailblazers the window they needed to take control and finish the match 25-21.
Tasha Berora (Brooklyn, NY) had a strong start with three kills in Game 1 and Christina Kidd (Glens Falls, NY) was huge in the final game earning five of her 10 kills. Kayla Bromback (Lee, MA) added eight kills in the victory as well. Marta Brown (Glens Falls, NY) had 41 assists and Amanda Lane (Swansea, MA) had 18 digs for the victors.
Jennifer Braun (Bloomfield, Conn.) had 16 assists for the Blue Jays and Fransiola Cekolli (Waterbury, Conn.) had 15 digs.
St. Joseph will next travel to Johnson & Wales on Wednesday at 7:00 PM. MCLA will host Castleton State Wednesday at 7:00 PM
Blue Jays Fall to Framingham State in Season Opener; Souza Leads the Way with 11 Kills
FRAMINGHAM, Mass., September 2, 2009 -- Saint Joseph College junior middle hitter Brittany Souza (Newington, Conn.) recorded a team-best 11 kills but the Blue Jays fell to host Framingham State College in straight sets in non-conference action on Wednesday evening in Framinham.
The Blue Jays hung around in the opening set but came up on the short end of the 25-23 score before dropping the final two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-19. It was the opening match of the 2009 campaign for both sides as the Blue Jays fall to 0-1 on the year while the Rams are 1-0.
Souza tallied a team-high 11 kills while hitting .308 to go along with a pair of service aces and three blocks. Freshman outside hitter Michelle DiPinto (Burlington, Conn.) hit a game-best .625 with six kills on just eight attempts while senior outside hitter Catherine Irwin (Barkhamstead, Conn.) added eight kills and 11 digs while freshman setter Jennifer Braun (Blomfield, Conn.) was solid with 27 assists.
The Rams were led by junior middle hitter Ashley Trudeau (Rockland, Mass.) who picked up a game high 12 kills, 12 digs and four aces in the match. Junior libero Jessi Goode (Marston Mills, Mass.) had an outstanding game with 37 digs, 12 receptions and seven service points.
Outside hitter Lauren Kasischke (Methuen, Mass.) chipped in five kills including the kill to win the first set. Freshmen Camryn Maguire (Natick, Mass.) and Jackie Friel (Centerville, Mass.) contributed to the win in their first collegiate games. Maguire picked up a game high 25 assists, while Friel added five kills.
The Rams return to action on Friday as they face Salve Regina at 4 p.m. in the Emerson/Wentworth Tournament, while the Blue Jays travel to MCLA for a tri-match with Eastern Nazarene beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Blue Jays 2009 Schedule Announced
WEST HARTFORD, Conn., August 17, 2009 -- Saint Joseph College head volleyball coach Val Briggs has announced a 27-match regular-season schedule for the Blue Jays in 2009. SJC, coming off a 9-16 season, will open the season up at Framingham State on September 2 at 7:00 p.m. The Blue Jays will be on the road for their first five matches before coming home to take on Mitchell College on September 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the O'Connell Center. The Blue Jays, 2-9 in conference play a year ago, will open up their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) schedule on September 9 at Johnson & Wales University. View Complete Schedule.
