NEC Edges Women's Volleyball

NEW LONDON, Conn. – New England College came away with a 3-0 victory over Mitchell College on Saturday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference women's volleyball clash at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

NEC, which won by set scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-19, picked up its fourth straight win and remained unbeaten in league play. Shirita Wimberly paced the Pilgrims with a match-high 11 kills while Tihani Ehia added nine kills and a match-high 23 digs. NEC hit .223 as a team and held a 41-27 edge in total kills.

Ciera Moore led Mitchell with seven kills while Olivia DeLoach finished with six kills and a team-high 11 digs.

NEC led by as many as seven in the opening set before Mitchell started to claw its way back. The Mariners won seven out of eight points to close within one at 13-12, but the Pilgrims never yielded the lead. Ehia supplied four kills and eight digs in the stanza as NEC raced out to the early 1-0 lead.

The Mariners looked to even things up in the second set and led 19-15 following a service ace by Claire Binfield. The Pilgrims, however, took five of the next six points to even the set at 20-20. An ace by Tihani put NEC in front for good, and kills by Wimberly and Renee McBride-Rogers down the stretch secured the 2-0 advantage.

The Pilgrims trailed 18-15 in the third before turning things around once again, winning 10 out of 11 points to clinch the match. The majority of the damage came on the serve of Kenzie Barron, who supplied five straight points that included a pair of aces. Ehia provided three kills during the span while Wimberly closed out the match with back-to-back kills.

Mitchell (7-8 overall, 1-2 NECC) will next host Albertus Magnus College on Monday, October 7 at 7 p.m. NEC returns to action at Saint Joseph's College (ME) on Tuesday, October 8 at 6 p.m.