Volleyball Falls to DWC in NECC Opener
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team lost its first NECC match of the season by a 3-1 final to Daniel Webster College on Tuesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
Daniel Webster (11-3 overall, 2-0 NECC) won by set scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-8 and 25-13. Chelsey Crawford finished with a match-high 12 kills to pace the Eagles while Caitlyn DePierro handed out 29 assists. Mitchell (5-3 overall, 0-1 NECC) was led by freshman Emily Stracuzzi with six kills.
A slow start put the Mariners behind 6-4 early in the opening set, but Stracuzzi sparked the team from the service line with a pair of aces. Mitchell won seven of the next eight points to go ahead 11-7 and never trailed again. The Eagles later tied the set at 16-16, but back-to-back kills by junior Kendra Erskine and senior Bianca Young—along with a pair of DWC errors—gave Mitchell a 20-16 cushion on the way to the win.
The second set was closely contested throughout, as neither side took a lead bigger than three points. Mitchell held a slim lead at 21-19 but saw momentum slip away after being penalized a point for serving out of order. Daniel Webster took advantage by winning five of the next seven points to even the match, with Crawford delivering the final kill on set point.
The Eagles kept the pressure on and jumped out to a quick lead in the third set. Samantha Hill opened the set with four points from the service stripe and DePierro later followed with five more—including a pair of aces—as Daniel Webster grabbed an 11-2 advantage. The Eagles coasted from there as Crawford provided half of the squad's 10 kills in the set.
Hill once again gave the Eagles a quick lead in the fourth set, serving for three aces en route to a 5-0 lead. The Mariners never recovered, and Amanda Wilson later provided the finishing touch with her only kill of the night to end the match.
Mitchell will next host Regis College on Saturday, October 8 at 1 p.m.