Newbury Blanks Volleyball 3-0

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Newbury College came away with a 3-0 victory over Mitchell College on Wednesday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's volleyball action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Newbury (11-12 overall, 4-0 NECC) won by set scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-20. Courtney Banks led all players with 13 kills and added 10 digs and four service aces for the Nighthawks. Madison Clemmons also contributed nine kills and 11 digs while McKenzie Kish handed out a match-high 23 assists.

Sophomore Amanda Garcia led the Mariners (4-10 overall, 1-2 NECC) with 11 kills while senior Gloria Charles added nine kills and a team-high 12 digs. Sophomore setter Nicole Caminiti recorded 21 assists and a pair of service aces to go with nine digs.

In the first set, Newbury led 17-16 before rallying to break it open. The Nighthawks scored four straight points on kills from four different players—Lauren Watson, Banks, Clemmons and Kish—to open up a five-point lead. Mitchell called timeout and won the next point on a kill by Caminiti to make it 22-17, but Newbury later closed out the set on consecutive kills by Clemmons and Banks.

Newbury didn't take a lead in the second set until a kill by Lindsey Clark made it 10-9. The Nighthawks didn't trail again in the set, with Watson closing it out with five straight points from the service stripe, including an ace on set point.

The two teams combined for 22 kills in a competitive third set. With the score tied at 18-18, the Mariners pulled ahead by two thanks to a pair of Newbury attack errors. However, the Nighthawks responded by winning the next seven points to close out the match. Watson served for the final six points, a stretch that featured three kills by Banks. Garcia led the Mariners with six kills in the stanza while Banks had five and Charles and Clemmons each had four.

Mitchell will next play at Southern Vermont College on Saturday, October 12 at 4:30 p.m.