Mount Ida Tops Volleyball in Five Sets

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mount Ida College women's volleyball team rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Mitchell College by a 3-2 final (26-28, 25-18, 23-25, 25-14, 15-12) on Wednesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Three players finished with double-digit kills on the night for the Mustangs, who improved to 4-7 overall. Mary Kate Reidy led Mount Ida with 12 kills while Taylor Davis added 11 and Alysha Dunbar finished with 10. Nicole Peixoto dished out a match-high 42 assists while Kelcey Koolman contributed 19 digs.

Junior Amanda Garcia led Mitchell (2-6 overall) with a match-high 16 kills on 33 attempts. Classmates Nicole Caminiti and Kaisea Caramante chipped in with 26 assists and 17 digs, respectively.

In the climactic fifth set, Mitchell led in the early going until Mount Ida fought back to take its first lead at 6-5. The Mustangs increased the margin to 10-7 before the Mariners responded to tie the set at 12-12. After a Mitchell service error gave Mount Ida the lead and the serve, Maryssa Dwyer closed out the match with a pair of aces to seal the victory.

Mitchell won the first and third sets to take control of the match. In the opening set, the Mariners led by as many as six before the Mustangs bounced back and tied the game at 23-23. Each team then had a chance to serve for the set but came up empty. Mitchell finally came through on its third set point of the stanza as Janelle Rice rocketed a serve that was returned to the net, and Garcia spiked the ball down for her fifth kill of the set. 

Peixoto opened the fourth set by serving for four straight points to give the Mustangs some breathing room. Mount Ida never trailed in the stanza and, despite eight attack errors, came away with a comfortable win to force the final set.

Davis and Molly Alkinburg each recorded a pair of kills for the Mustangs in the fifth set. Mount Ida finished with a 50-36 advantage in kills for the match and an 11-7 edge in service aces.

Mitchell will next host Rhode Island College on Saturday, September 20 at 1 p.m. Mount Ida returns to action at home against both Anna Maria College (10 a.m.) and Emmanuel College (2 p.m.) on Saturday.