Volleyball Falls Short in Five Set Marathon Against Framingham

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team came up just short on their home court Wednesday night, falling in five sets to Framingham State in a con-conference match at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

After the Rams took the opening set 25-22 they again bested the Mariners, posting a mirror score of 25-22 to secure a 2-0 advantage. Mitchell would prove resilient, however, battling back to take the third stanza 25-21 and the fourth 25-22, setting up a deciding fifth set. Unfortunately for the home squad, Framingham would take the final set 15-7 and defeat the Mariners, who was playing in their seventh match this season that went the distance.

Junior Bliss Brown (Rainbow City, Ala.) played one of her best all-around matches of the season, registering 22 kills, good for second most this fall, to go along with 13 digs. Fellow junior Allison Blum (Garden Grove, Cali.) chipped in 14 kills and 17 digs, while sophomore Jenna Blankenship (Virden, Ill.) produced 21 defensive digs and a team-high 19 assists. Sophomore Julia Lent (Miller Place, N.Y.) tallied 22 digs to lead the Mariners, and senior Hannah O'Brein (Riverside, R.I.) recorded her first double-double of the season, finishing with 15 assists and 11 digs.

With the score knotted at two, the game moved into the deciding fifth set, where the Mariners and Rams traded points early to make the score 3-3. A kill by Bliss Brown then gave the home team a 4-3 edge, but Framingham would answer by scoring seven straight points, allowing the Rams to get lead they would not relinquish. Brown followed with another kill to snap the streak and put Mitchell within five, but an attack error and a kill by Framingham's Hailey Sanders pushed their advantage to 12-5 and led to a Mitchell timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Sanders collected another kill, and would close the set with two more kills, giving her a match-high 26 for the Rams.

The 26 kills were also a season-high for Sanders, who was joined in double-figures by Natalie Reynolds, who was credited with 13. Stella Bailey handed out a season-high 49 assists for the Rams, while Carly Beaulieu paced the team with 31 digs.

The Mariners (5-9, 3-4 GNAC) will look to stop their three-game skid when they host Lasell University and New England College in a GNAC tri-match on Saturday, October 7th. The Rams (12-5, 1-0 MASCAC) will return to action on Friday, October 6th, at home against Westfield State.