Volleyball Falls in Five to Becker

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Becker College held on for a 3-2 victory (22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 17-25, 15-10) over Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference women's volleyball action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Marissa Turner led the Hawks with 13 kills while Kayla Dupree and Cheyenne Melanson chipped in with 10 and eight, respectively. Charlene Landry finished with team highs of 18 assists and 19 digs as Becker improved to 9-14 overall and 2-4 in league play.

Amanda Rowan led Mitchell (3-16 overall, 0-6 NECC) with a match-high 15 kills and added 20 digs and two blocks. Janelle Rice handed out 27 assists to go with eight kills while Colby Zitoli contributed 23 digs. Italia Krick also finished with eight kills and a team-high four service aces.

Mitchell clinched the opening set on an ace by Krick and built a 9-1 lead in the second before momentum shifted to Becker. Brittney Bullis helped to serve the Hawks back into the match, sparking a 7-0 run that trimmed the deficit to one. She contributed two aces during the spurt while Dupree added a pair of kills.

Later in the set, Becker finally pulled even at 15-15 on an ace by Dupree. The Hawks then went ahead for good on a kill by Turner, the first of eight straight points that led to a 24-16 lead. Turner provided three kills during the stretch as Becker tied the match at 1-1.

Turner kept the hot hand with four kills in the third set as the Hawks built an early 8-2 lead and never trailed. The Mariners responded in the fourth, winning 13 of the final 18 points to tie up the match. Rowan accounted for five of Mitchell's 11 kills in the stanza as the contest went to a decisive fifth set.

Becker built a 6-0 lead in the final set and never looked back. Melanson provided back-to-back kills on the first two points to set the tone. Sofia Cullina followed with an ace and Turner added a kill, and the final points came via Mitchell errors. 

A kill by Rice finally put the Mariners on the board, but they never got closer than three the rest of the way. Dupree's final kill brought the Hawks to match point, and Bullis closed things out with her match-high fifth ace of the day. Melanson finished with five of her eight kills in the final set.

Mitchell (3-16 overall, 0-6 NECC) will next play at Regis College on Wednesday, October 26 at 7 p.m.