Southern Vermont Powers Past Volleyball

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team lost a 3-0 decision to Southern Vermont College on Saturday evening in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Southern Vermont (17-1 overall, 5-0 NECC), the top team in the conference, never trailed at any point and won by set scores of 25-11, 25-8 and 25-15. Jessica Alvarez led the way for the Mountaineers with a match-high 17 kills and hit .444. As a team, Southern Vermont recorded double-digit kill totals in each set and finished with 35 in the contest while hitting .347.

Already ahead 10-5 in the first set, the Mountaineers pulled away behind a serving spree by Cindyline Sevilla. She served for eight straight points—including four aces—to stretch the SVC lead to 18-5. Alvarez had six kills in the set while Elaine Guerrero added three.

Carrie Baltazar served Southern Vermont out to a 6-0 lead to start the second stanza. The Mountaineers quickly pushed the lead to double digits with Sevilla on serve and never looked back, holding the Mariners to just eight points in the set.

The duo of Baltazar and Alvarez sparked SVC to a 5-0 lead in the third set, with the former serving for four points while the latter put down three kills. Alvarez finished with six kills in the set while Danielle Healis added three.

Baltazar handed out a match-high 17 assists and added a pair of aces. Sevilla led all players with five aces and also came up with 12 digs.

Seniors Arianna Thomas and Kendra Erskine and junior Gloria Charles recorded three kills apiece for the Mariners (6-9 overall, 3-2 NECC). Erskine also added a pair of blocks while Charles had one.

Mitchell returns to action at Newbury College on Tuesday, October 16 at 8 p.m.