Volleyball Outlasts Framingham in Five Set Marathon

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- The Mitchell women's volleyball team outlasted Framingham State 3-2 on Thursday night in a five set marathon at Logan Gymnasium.

Mitchell dropped the opening set 25-19, won the second set 25-23, fell in the third set 25-20, edged the Rams 25-22 in the fourth set, and pulled away 18-16 in the deciding fifth set. Olivia DeLoach powered the Mariners, registering 24 kills and 31 digs, both match-high numbers. Allison Blum added 20 kills and 19 digs, while Molly Steel-Miller had 13 kills and Claire Binfield dished out a game-high 59 assists. Julia Lent added 31 digs in the win. 

Mitchell trailed early in the first set, allowing the Rams to jump out to an 11-5 advantage. The Mariners remained close, keeping the score within five points until Framingham scored four straight to turn a 17-12 lead into a 20-12 game. Mitchell responded, with Allison Blum registering back to back kills on a 4-0 run, however the Rams scored four of the last five points to take the set.

The second set saw Mitchell take an early lead. Framingham kept within shouting distance however, knotting the score at 15 on a service error by the Mariners. The Rams scored two more points before Molly Steel-Miller and Blum tallied kills and took advantage of a Framingham miscue to tie the score back up, 18-18. Blum then added another kill to put Mitchell ahead by one. The Rams answered by scoring three straight, leading to a Mitchell timeout. Soon after, a service error by the home team and a kill by DeLoach tied the game at 23, which in turn caused Framingham to take a timeout of their own. Ciera Moore notched a kill out of the break to put Mitchell ahead by one, and following another Framingham timeout, Steel-Miller fired a kill to take the set.

Mitchell carried their lead into the third set, maintaining a slight advantage early on. Trailing 13-10, the Rams completed a 5-0 run which elevated them to a one point lead and caused the Mariners to use a timeout. Mitchell would regain the lead on a bad set by Framingham's Isabel Henwood. The Rams then scored three straight to go ahead, where they would stay, taking the set.

After Framingham took 6-5 lead in the fourth set, Mitchell went ahead when Sarah Aviles and Blum got back to back kills. The Mariners would hang onto their narrow lead, holding off the Rams to win the frame 25-22, setting up a deciding fifth set.

Back and forth the deciding set went, with neither squad able to comfortably jump ahead. Down two, Mitchell scored three straight, including a kill by Blum, to go ahead. The Rams tied the game following a timeout, before kills by Blum, DeLoach, and Binfield allowed the Mariners to close the set on a 3-1 run to end it. 

Anna Szymanski led Framingham with 20 kills and Hailey Sanders joined her in double figures with 13 of her own. Isabel Henwood had 43 assists and 18 digs in the loss, while Malia Shields, Carly Beaulieu, Szymanski, and Emily Flaherty reached double digit digs. 

Having won five of their last six games, the Mariners (5-2 overall) will now prepare to head to Buzzards Bay on Saturday to face Mass. Maritime at 6:00 pm.