Volleyball Downs Elms to Earn NECC Berth
CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team stamped its ticket to the NECC Championship with a dramatic 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 16-25, 27-25, 15-8) victory at Elms College on Saturday afternoon on the final day of the regular season.
The Mariners (9-12 overall) improved to 4-4 in the NECC and will be one of six teams competing at the NECC Championship, which begins on Tuesday, October 29. A complete schedule with seedings will be announced by the conference later today.
Mitchell battled back from a 2-1 deficit to win both the fourth and fifth sets. Sophomore Amanda Garcia led the way with a match-high 17 kills. Caitlyn Larvey dug a match-high 28 balls and Christine Searles floored kills to lead Elms (6-19 overall, 2-6 NECC).
After falling behind in the match, Elms won the second and third sets and battled to a 24-24 tie in the fourth frame. A kill by freshman Amanda Rowan gave Mitchell a 25-24 lead, but Elms' Alexandra Mack offset that with a kill of her own to knot the stanza at 25-25. A Blazers' ball handling error and an attacking error then allowed the Mariners to post a 27-25 win in the set and force a decisive fifth set.
Mitchell stormed out to an early 7-2 lead, but two errors and an ace from Larvey allowed Elms to pull to within three at 8-5. With the score set at 12-8 following a Mitchell service error, the Mariners used kills from senior Barbara Fontes and sophomore Nicole Caminiti to clinch the match.
Senior Gloria Charles led the defensive effort for Mitchell with 19 digs, while freshman Taylor Dansereau followed with 13. Freshman Jessica Ware and Caminiti finished with 11 and 10 digs, respectively, while Caminiti also handed out 38 helpers and four aces.