Volleyball Loses In Straight Sets vs. ENC

Volleyball Loses In Straight Sets vs. ENC

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to Eastern Nazarene College on Tuesday night in New England Collegiate Conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Eastern Nazarene won by set scores of 25-14, 25-19 and 25-21 while hitting .139 as a team. Ruth Aguilar, Rebecca Thorne and Jenna Meacham finished with seven kills apiece to lead a balanced ENC attack. Aguilar also added 14 assists, 10 digs and four service aces to round out a solid night. The Lions improved to 13-4 overall and remained unbeaten in league play at 4-0.

Ariana Carter paced Mitchell (1-12 overall, 1-3 NECC) with eight kills and hit .375 in the contest. Laurissa Amaker contributed five kills and 10 digs while Shyla Phillips-Krick chipped in a match-high 18 digs.

In the opening set, the Lions built a 13-11 lead without the benefit of a single kill. However, ENC finished the set strong, recording six kills over its final 12 points to secure the early 1-0 advantage.

The second set was tied at 16-16 when the Lions took control, recording kills on four straight rallies to seize the momentum. Meacham had two during the stretch—and five in total for the set—as Eastern Nazarene closed out the game by winning nine of the final 12 points to go up 2-0 in the match.

ENC led by as many as five points in the third set before the Mariners rallied back to tie things up at 19-19 on a kill by Nikki Gerald. The Lions then won the next four points to vault back into the lead, and Thorne later supplied the final kill on match point.

Mitchell will next host Pine Manor College on Thursday, October 11 at 7 p.m. Eastern Nazarene returns to action at Gordon College on Thursday at 7 p.m.