Volleyball Loses Season Opener at CGA

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Mitchell College volleyball team opened the 2021 season with a 3-0 loss at Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday evening.

The Bears won by set scores of 25-20, 25-10, and 25-13 to open the season at 1-0. Amanda Dake, Lauren Hatfield and Noelle Tursky all tied for a team-high five kills to lead Coast Guard. Turksy also added game highs of 14 assists and nine digs.

Olivia DeLoach and Claire Binfield paced the Mariners with a team-high four kills apiece. Binfield added 13 assists while DeLoach tallied a game-high nine digs.

In the opening set, the Bears jumped out to a 7-2 lead before Mitchell trimmed the deficit to one. With back-to-back service aces, the Mariners later tied it at 11-11. Coast Guard went on to take a 21-14 lead, but Mitchell inched closer with a five-point run to pull within 21-19. Following a time out to regroup, Coast Guard secured the set by a 25-20 margin.

Coast Guard scored eight straight points to break a 3-3 tie in the second set, coasting to a 25-10 final. In the final set, Mitchell led 9-8 before the hosts scored eight straight to take a 16-9 lead. The Bears wrapped up the victory by scoring seven of the last nine points to win 25-13.

The loss ruined the debut of Mitchell head coach Kelsey Goodman, who took over the program this past summer. 

Mitchell (0-1 overall) will next play at Salem State University on Saturday, September 4 at 1 p.m.