Volleyball Falls Just Short in Five-Setter vs. USJ

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team dropped a closely-contested match to the University of Saint Joseph on Thursday night by a 3-2 final at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Saint Joseph (8-20 overall) rallied from down a set and fought off a match point to win by set scores of 25-21, 14-25, 23-25, 25-20 and 16-14. Ciara Perez recorded 14 kills while Emily Vigue added 11 to lead the Blue Jays. Megan Williams handed out 28 assists while Vigue added a team-high 17 digs.

Three Mariners finished with double-digit kill totals, led by a match-high 14 from freshman Amanda Garcia. Junior Gloria Charles and senior Arianna Thomas added 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while junior Nicole Terni chipped in with match highs of 39 assists and 19 digs.

Saint Joseph came out on top in a back-and-forth first set that featured 10 ties and six lead changes. The Blue Jays pulled ahead for good behind a kill by Perez that made it 13-12. Mitchell fell behind by as many as four before rallying back to pull within one at 21-20. Rebecca DiPinto changed the tide with a big block to put Saint Joseph back up by two, and the ensuing kill by Vigue made the margin three en route to the win.

Mitchell (6-14 overall) bounced back to take the next two sets. The Mariners cruised to a big win in the second set as Garcia recorded five kills in the frame to set the pace. The third set was once again a slugfest, with each side trading points throughout. Vigue and Perez had five kills apiece in the stanza but it wasn't enough. With the score tied at 21-21, Mitchell got back-to-back kills from Thomas and Garcia to take a two-point lead. Another kill by Garcia brought the Mariners to set point, and Terni closed things out with a kill to give Mitchell the 2-1 advantage.

Saint Joseph didn't fold after going down 15-10 in the fourth set. The Blue Jays stormed back by winning the next eight points to snatch away the lead and all momentum. DiPinto served for seven points during the run while Perez contributed a pair of kills. After Mitchell fought back to tie the score at 18-18, another kill from Perez put Saint Joseph back in front for good.

The Blue Jays got off to a great start in the final set, racing out to an 8-3 lead before the two teams switched sides. The Mariners then began to claw their way back and eventually took their first lead at 14-13 following a Thomas kill. Saint Joseph fended off match point and then got one of their own following a Mitchell attack error. The Blue Jays didn't waste the opportunity, closing out the match behind Vigue's third and final kill of the set.

The win gave Saint Joseph a split of the season series. The two teams met earlier this year and Mitchell came away the victor in another five-set marathon.

The night also featured a special ceremony to honor Mitchell's seniors. Thomas, Terni and Kendra Erskine were all playing in the final home match of their careers. Erskine finished with five kills and two aces in the match.

Mitchell will close out the regular season at Regis College on Saturday, October 27 at 1 p.m.