Volleyball Drops Five-Set Thriller at USJ

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team dropped a 3-2 nail-biter at the University of Saint Joseph on Thursday night in non-conference action at the O'Connell Center.

The match came down to a back-and-forth fifth set that featured 10 ties and seven lead changes. The hosts eventually pulled things out in dramatic fashion, clinching the victory on back-to-back kills by Shannon Carey. The Blue Jays (4-10 overall) won by set scores of 17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23 and 22-20.  

Mitchell's Olivia DeLoach led all players with season highs of 20 kills and 33 digs. Molly Steel-Miller and Bree Rudolph also reached double-digit kills on the night with 14 and 10, respectively. Claire Binfield eclipsed her career high with 50 assists.

Carey paced USJ with 19 kills while Hannah Benson added 15.

Mitchell led 1-0 and 2-1 in the match but saw USJ fight back to even things up each time. In the dramatic fifth set, the teams traded blows as momentum shifted from one side of the court to the other.

The Mariners jumped out to a 3-0 start and led by as many as three at 5-2. The Blue Jays responded with seven straight points to swing the advantage in their favor, with Benson contributing a pair of kills during the stretch.  

Mitchell rallied back quickly and tied the set at 11-11 on a kill by Jade Cain. From that moment on, neither team led by more than two points. The Mariners fended off six match points as the contest extended into win-by-two territory. But after a kill by Rudolph knotted the score at 20-20, Carey delivered the final two points of the set to seal the victory for USJ.

Mitchell (4-11 overall) will next host a tri-match against New England College and Smith College on Saturday, October 16 at noon.