Volleyball Outlasts Elms in Five Sets for Third Straight Win

NEW LONDON, Conn. – After dropping the first two sets of the night, the Mitchell College women's volleyball team stormed back to defeat Elms College, 3-2, in a GNAC match Wednesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center. The victory gives the Mariners a three game winning streak, their longest of the season, and improves their record to 3-2 thus far in conference play.

The Mariners won by set scores of 25-21, 25-22, and 15-11. They came up short in the first two sets by scores of 25-19 and 25-23.

Bliss Brown (Rainbow City, Ala.) and Sarah Aviles (Griswold, Conn.) led the offensive attack for Mitchell, finishing with 14 kills apiece. Brown added 24 digs, while Allison Blum (Garden Grove, Cali.) also finished with double-digit kills, tallying 12 of her own to go along with 22 digs. Julia Lent (Miller Place, N.Y.) added 24 digs for the Mariners, the 11th consecutive game the sophomore has recorded double-figure digs. Jenna Blankenship (Virden, Ill.) and Hannah O'Brien (Riverside, R.I.) led the way in the assist category, handing out 23 and 18 respectively.

Elms began the night by taking the first two sets, yet the Mariners came out on top in the next two, which knotted the score at 2-2. The action then advanced to the fifth and deciding set, which saw the Blazers record the first two points. A pair of attack errors and a bad set by Elms pushed Mitchell ahead 3-2, and after Elms recorded a point to tie the score, Kiersten Veenstra (Three Rivers, MI) and Bliss Brown notched back to back kills to put the home team back ahead.

Following a kill moments later by Mitchell's Karissa Cotoia (Scituate, R.I.), the Blazers rattled off four consecutive points to jump ahead, 8-6. Back to back Mitchell points, including a kill by Brown, again brought the score even, and it remained there after Mitchell went down one on a service error and tied it up again on a kill delivered by Allison Blum.

Again the two teams traded points as the score moved to 10-10. Alysha Izquierdo then collected a kill to put the Blazers ahead by one, but that would be the last time they would lead all game. A pair of errors by Elms then put Mitchell on top to stay, as the Mariners scored the final three points to take the match, highlighted two critical Bliss Brown kills.

Izquierdo led the Blazers offensively with 15 kills and 22 digs, while Samiyah Cabrera added 13 kills, and Jaylen Holman handed out a game-high 27 assists.

The Mariners (5-6, 3-2 GNAC) will look to build upon their three game winning streak when they play at a conference tri-match on Saturday, September 30th, hosted by Regis College, featuring the Mariners and Simmons University. The Blazers (1-12, 1-3 GNAC) are scheduled to play next on Saturday, September 30th, at a GNAC tri-match with Norwich University and Emmanuel College, hosted by the Cadets.