2016 SENIOR DAY PHOTO GALLERY

PDF: 2016 SENIOR DAY GAME PROGRAM

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University women's volleyball team was swept by the visiting Monks of St. Joseph's College (Maine) in straight sets on Saturday in Andrews Hall. 

Norwich (2-9, 1-3 GNAC) lost its third of four Great Northeast Athletic Conference matches to date while St. Joseph's moves to 4-8 alongside a 1-1 mark in the league – the Monks won via set scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 25-20. 

Norwich was led by five kills from freshmen Monika Schneider (Brookline, N.H.) and Ashley Nau (Sunrise, Fla.). Sophomore Emily Oliver (Sagamore Hills, Ohio) and junior Katie Crane (Avon, N.Y.) reached double-digit assist totals as Oliver handed out 14 assists while Crane set up 10 of her team's 26 kills. 

Defensively, freshman Brianna Dawson (Katonah, N.Y.) racked up a career-high 19 digs and senior Alex Ruediger (Sandy Lake, Pa.) was responsible for 13 of her team's 57 digs on the day. Crane hammered home two service aces while freshman Marissa Perrotti (Moultonborough, N.H.) threw up two solo blocks in the match. 

Ruediger also became the fifth student-athlete in program history to reach 700 digs in a career.

Trailing by a large margin in the first set, Norwich responded with a valiant effort down the stretch. With her team behind 23-18, a kill from sophomore Courtney Quinn (Taunton, Mass.) led to a Monks attacking error and back-to-back kills from Schneider, cutting the deficit to 23-22. An attack error by St. Joseph's tied the set at 23, but a kill by the visitors and an attacking error by Norwich propelled the Monks to the opening set win. 

St. Joseph's opened up a 6-1 lead in the second set but Norwich was quick to tie the score at 10. The Cadets, however, yielded six of the set's next seven points and could not recover. The third set saw Norwich down by a 19-9 margin, but Norwich scored six-straight points with Dawson serving. 

Ahead by a 23-20 score, back-to-back service aces by the Monks extinguished any chance of a Norwich comeback, sending the Cadets to their third straight-set loss within conference play. 

The Monks were led by 11 kills from Shadai Gosselin. Sarah Dyer issued 31 assists while Jennelle Thompson racked up an impressive 24 digs defensively – Dyer and Gosselin registered 11 and 10 digs, respectively, to record double-doubles. 

Seniors Ruediger and Rebecca Gibson (Milford, N.H.) were recognized with a pre-match ceremony on Senior Day. Many family members and friends were in attendance in Andrews Hall as the campus celebrates Parent & Family Weekend in Northfield. 

Norwich will look to rebound this Tuesday, Oct. 4 as it welcomes Johnson St. to Andrews Hall for a 7 p.m. non-league match.