Conn Rolls Past Volleyball in Crosstown Battle

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team dropped a straight set non-conference match against Connecticut College on Tuesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center. The Camels won by set scores of 25-20, 25-19, and 25-8, as the Mariners dropped to 2-6 this season in out of conference action.

Junior Bliss Brown (Rainbow City, Ala.) notched a game-high 12 kills to go along with 11 digs for Mitchell, and has now posted double-digit kills and double-digit digs in the same match 12 times this fall. Fellow junior Allison Blum (Garden Grove, Cali.) added chipped in eight kills, while sophomore Jenna Blankenship (Virden, Ill.) paced the Mariners with 12 assists and added 14 digs of her own.

Riley Lord led a well-balanced Camel squad, recording nine kills and 11 defensive digs. Rae Wartelle and Emma Wheeler added eight and seven kills respectively, while Caroline Festersen was credited with a game-high 17 digs, and Natasha Shrivastava a game-high 19 assists.

In both the first and second set, the Mariners found themselves on the heels of the Camels down the stretch, but in both instances, Conn was able to pull out the victory. The home team held a 10-4 advantage early in the second set before Conn turned up the heat, scoring nine of the next 12 points to knot the score at 13-13. The third and final set saw the Camels in complete control, as they jumped out to a 12-3 edge, withstood three straight points by the Mariners, and scored 13 of the final 15 points to close out the match.

The Mariners (7-14, 5-8 GNAC) will not need to travel far for their next match, traveling across town to face Coast Guard Academy on Thursday, October 26th, at 7:00 pm in non-conference action. The Camels (11-10, 2-7 NESCAC) play their final conference game of the regular season on Friday, October 27th, at Tufts University.