Volleyball Picks Up Wins Over Pine Manor, Purchase

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team came away with wins over Pine Manor College and Purchase College on Saturday afternoon in a tri-match at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

The Mariners opened the day with a 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 26-24) victory over Pine Manor and closed with a thrilling 3-2 (25-15, 21-25, 25-23, 24-26, 17-15) win against Purchase. In the day's second match, Purchase topped Pine Manor 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-19).

Mitchell (2-1 overall) will next host the University of Saint Joseph (CT) on Wednesday, September 10 at 7 p.m. Pine Manor (0-5 overall) returns to action at Lesley University on Tuesday, September 9 at 8 p.m. while Purchase (1-7 overall) will next host Lehman College on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Match 1 – Mitchell 3, Pine Manor 0 (25-18, 28-26, 26-24)

Junior Amanda Garcia and freshman Myia Williams each recorded nine kills to lead the Mariners past the Gators. Junior Nicole Caminiti handed out a match-high 28 assists while senior Gloria Charles and junior Kaisea Caramante each finished with 12 digs.

The win also marked the first career victory for first-year head coach Kathy Frankowski.

Susan Le paced the Gators with six kills and also contributed a match-high 13 digs while Ashley Whiteshield dished out 15 assists.

Back-to-back kills by Williams put Mitchell on top 3-2 in the opening set, and the Mariners led the rest of the way before closing out a 25-18 win on a kill by Garcia. In the second set, Garcia supplied five kills while Williams added four and Charles three. The Mariners fought off a set point to tie the match at 25-25 on a kill by Charles, and eventually took the set 28-26 on a kill by Garcia.

The third set was also close as the Gators fought off a pair of match points to tie things up at 24-24. However, a kill by sophomore Amanda Rowan on the ensuing rally helped the Mariners to a 26-24 victory.

Match 2 – Purchase 3, Pine Manor 0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-19)

All six starters for Purchase finished with a kill as the Panthers cruised to a three-set win over Pine Manor. Sarah Gabler led all players with seven kills while Julia Chirlin finished with five service aces and four kills.

Destiny Mann led the Gators with five kills while Whiteshield finished with 13 assists.

Purchase closed out the first set on a 12-2 run for a commanding 25-11 win. Things got closer in the second set, although the Panthers never trailed at any point en route to a 25-18 victory. Pine Manor led in the early stages of the third set, and the score was tied at 12-12 before Purchase took control behind five straight points. Alex Lally served for two aces during the stretch to lead the Panthers to a 25-19 win in the final set.

Match 3 – Mitchell 3, Purchase 2 (25-15, 21-25, 25-23, 24-26, 17-15)

In the most competitive showdown of the day, Mitchell and Purchase traded sets and leads throughout the entire match. The Mariners almost had the contest clinched in the fourth set, but the Panthers rallied back with five straight points to force a deciding set.

The Mariners raced out to a 9-1 lead in the fifth set and looked ready to close out the match in style. However, a kill by Chirlin gave the serve back to Purchase, and she rallied the team from the service stripe with a pair of aces and five straight points to close the gap to 9-7. The Panthers later tied the score at 10-10 on an ace by Gabler, and neither team led by more than two the rest of the way.

With the score tied at 14-14, a kill by Garcia put the Mariners in front before Gabler answered for the Panthers. Garcia then gave Mitchell a 16-15 lead with another big kill, and Williams followed suit on the final play to close out the match.

Garcia led the Mariners with 15 kills that included five in the fifth set alone. Williams added 10 kills in the match while Caminiti finished with 35 assists. Caramante posted match-highs of 21 digs and nine service aces while freshman Janelle Rice added six kills, six aces and 19 digs.

Chirlin led the Panthers with 15 kills while Lally and Gabler recorded seven apiece. Lally also dished out 25 assists and added 15 digs.