St. Lawrence University Athletics

In her final collegiate triad, St. Lawrence University volleyball setter Vanessa Latam set her career high in assists, posting 50 in the Saints' 3-2 loss to Rhode Island College before St. Lawrence swept VTSU Castleton for the split.

The matches were the final contests of the season for the Saints, who finish their season 14-14 overall and 2-6 in conference.

"Definitely not our best match to start the day," said Saints head coach Shelly Roiger. "We had way to many unforced errors against Rhode Island and they capitalized on our lack of execution, especially in set five."

"It was a good bounce-back match against Castleton and I'm happy that we could finish the season with a dominant win and send our seniors off on a high note." 
 

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Match 1: St. Lawrence 2, Rhode Island Col. 3 (25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 13-15)

The Saints opened with Bridget Gammons kills on the first and second points of the match, but the Anchormen answered and built a 9-5 lead. Cara Vitarisi turned the set with four straight service points, three of them aces, to put St. Lawrence back in front 12-11.

McKayla Pollard then served six consecutive points to turn a 17-16 game into a 23-16 lead. Rhode Island College rallied with six straight points to get within a point before Araiza Acum-Santos finished the set with a kill.

The Anchormen took the second set after a 13-11 Saints lead evaporated. Rhode Island College scored 11 straight points behind Grace Luchka's serve and led 22-13. St. Lawrence answered with a 5-1 run and pulled within two, but Marina Colonis finished it with a kill to even the match. The Saints won a back-and-forth third set that was tied 13-13 and 20-20. Cassady Smith closed it out 25-23 with a service ace, her seventh of the match.

Smith set the tone in the fourth set as well, serving the Saints to a 5-1 lead with three aces. St. Lawrence stretched the margin to 13-7 and led 20-15, but Rhode Island College won 10 of the final 12 points, including a run that turned a 21-18 deficit into a 22-21 lead. Caroline Morrell served two aces to end the set 25-22 and force a decider.

The Saints jumped ahead 2-0 in the fifth set, but Yuleisy Alvelo served four straight points, two of them aces, to give the Anchormen an 8-4 lead. St. Lawrence closed the gap again, but Rhode Island closed the match.

Gammons led the Saints with 19 kills, and Pollard added 15 kills and Acum-Santos 13. Vanessa Latam handed out 50 assists, and Smith posted 25 digs to go with her seven aces.
 

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Match 2: St. Lawrence 3, VTSU Castleton 0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18)

St. Lawrence led by as many as eight in the opening set, but the Spartans kept coming back. Castleton took an early 3-1 edge, and Annika Flittie answered with four straight service points to put the Saints up 6-3. The Spartans tied it at 8-8 on a Lilli Burrows ace, and Bridget Gammons and Kaitlyn Putman kills helped St. Lawrence move back in front 12-9. Cassady Smith then served the lead to 16-11 with a kill from Gammons, one from Putman and an ace. The Saints never lost the lead from there.

St. Lawrence took an early 6-0 lead behind two Smith aces. Castleton scored four straight points to pull within 13-10, but St. Lawrence answered by winning 12 of the next 15 points. The Spartans managed just two kills in the set. Gammons ended the set at 25-15.

Castleton started the third set better, rallying from an early deficit to lead 11-8 and later 15-14. McKayla Pollard then took over at the service line, rattling off eight straight points with two aces to turn the 14-15 deficit into a 22-15 lead, carrying the Saints to straight-set victory.

Gammons led the Saints with 13 kills and four block assists. Araiza Acum-Santos added seven kills, and Pollard had five kills and three aces. Vanessa Latam handed out 22 assists, with Rowan Mottau adding eight, and Smith finished with four aces and nine digs.