Volleyball Drops Two in Home Tri-Match

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College lost a pair of home volleyball matches on Saturday afternoon, falling 3-2 to New England College before being blanked 3-0 by Smith College.

Smith (18-6 overall) went 2-0 on the day, picking up a five-set victory over NEC (16-5 overall) in the neutral match. 

Mitchell (4-13 overall) will next play at Bay Path College on Tuesday, October 19 at 8 p.m.

Game 1: NEC 3, Mitchell 2 (24-26, 25-12, 23-25, 25-12,15-11)

The Pilgrims erased 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to remain unbeaten in New England Collegiate Conference play. Shirita Wimberly led all players with 16 kills and 26 digs while Tatiana Sampson added 15 kills and five blocks. Amber Thi chipped in 14 kills and 19 digs. 

Olivia DeLoach paced Mitchell with 14 kills and 16 digs.

The crucial fifth set featured two lead changes and five ties, the last of which came at 11-11 following a kill by DeLoach. The visitors then slammed the door shut with four straight points, and got blocks by Thi and Samantha Vargas to secure match point. 

The Pilgrims finished with three block solos and 20 block assists. Vargas led all players with seven block assists.  

Game 2: Smith 3, NEC 2 (26-24, 19-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-8)

After taking the opening set, Smith fell into a 2-1 hole but rallied back to capture the final two sets to claim victory. Olivia Smith cashed in a match-high 19 kills while Abby Sweeney tacked on 16. Gabby Beckman finished with 30 digs while Nathalie Pak handed out 42 assists.

Wimberly paced NEC with 13 kills while Thi added 11 and Sampson chipped in 10. The Pilgrims also turned in another stellar performance at the net, finishing with four block solos and 24 block assists. 

Game 3: Smith 3, Mitchell 0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-22)

Sweeney and Smith led the Pioneers with 12 and 10 kills, respectively, while Pak recorded 30 assists. The visitors hit .353 as a team and finished with three block solos and 20 block assists, with Fiona Hegarty leading the charge with two solos and six assists.

DeLoach led Mitchell with nine kills while Bree Rudolph came off the bench to contribute seven.