Volleyball Falls to Newbury 3-0

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

Newbury won by set scores of 25-20, 25-23 and 25-11 to improve to 12-7 overall (4-0 NECC). Courtney Banks paced the Nighthawks with a match-high 13 kills while teammate Lina Miranda chipped in with 10 kills and two blocks. Marlen Reynoso handed out 28 assists while Gabby Aldaco led the defense with 14 digs.

Mitchell (2-10 overall, 0-3 NECC) was led by Amanda Garcia with eight kills and Amanda Rowan with six. Garcia also tacked on a match-high six blocks while Nicole Caminiti finished with team highs of 12 assists and 11 digs.

In the opening set, Newbury won 15 of the first 18 points to open up a huge lead. Banks contributed four kills during the run while Maya Umoren had two and also served for a stretch of six straight points. A quick timeout by the Mariners made all the difference, as the home team regrouped and worked to whittle down the margin. A kill by Emily Stracuzzi pulled the Mariners to within three at 22-19, but a service error gave momentum back to Newbury, and Umoren provided the final kill as the Nighthawks took the set.

Neither team led by more than four points at any juncture of the second set. Mitchell took its first lead of the night on a kill by Garcia and increased the margin to 12-10 following an ace from Kaisea Caramante. Newbury captured the next five points to pull back in front, and a kill by Banks gave the Nighthawks their largest lead at 19-15. Although the Mariners fought their way back to tie things up at 23-23, Newbury closed out the set with another kill by Umoren coupled with a Mitchell error to go up 2-0 in the match.

Mitchell got off to a good start in the third set as Caramante served for three straight points. However, the Nighthawks quickly rallied back and took the lead for good on a kill by Miranda. Later in the stanza, Aldaco served for a string of six straight points as Newbury opened up a 22-9 lead. Miranda ended the contest with her fourth kill of the set to bring her match total into double digits.      

Mitchell will next host Regis College on Saturday, October 17 at 2 p.m. Newbury returns to action at the University of Saint Joseph on Thursday, October 15 at 7 p.m.