BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College women's volleyball team cruised past non-conference foe the Eagles of Green Mountain College 3-1 Wednesday night in the MAC. The Mountaineers celebrated "senior night," recognizing the accomplishments of seniors Brittany Barclay, Michelle Ritenour, and Sarah Golub, as the young squad improved to 13-6.
The Mountaineers came out strong and put down GMC 25-17 in the first set. SVC hit well in the first set (.273) behind juniors Ashliy Veliz and Joa Claircius. The Eagles (7-17) turned it around in the second game with a 25-18 victory despite hitting negative with -0.26. The Mountaineers committed numerous errors throughout the night but maintained composure. SVC turned it on in the third (25-13) and fourth (25-19) set to put it away 3-1 and gain its 13 win of the year.
Head Coach Josh Stokes said, "I am so happy that we were able to share our 13th win together with everyone getting on the court and in front of our faithful Mountaineer fans. Most importantly, I am glad we got to share Senior Night with three women that will be missed immensely. Southern Vermont Volleyball would like to say Aloha 'oe and mahalo nui loa for all of their efforts. To Sarah, Brittany, and Michelle: we never could have done any of this without you here."
Veliz had a match-high 13 kills, followed by Claircius with eight and junior Rita Hall with seven. Junior setter Hershey Canta led with a match-high 27 assists. Defensively junior libero and captain Joanna Hogue led all with 26 digs, followed by Veliz with 18. Golub of Groton, Connecticut added 11 digs, two kills, and an ace, and Canta tallied 10 digs. Barclay (Rutland, Vermont) rounded out the defensive surge with nine digs and Ritenour (Germantown, Maryland) had a nice run at the service line to round out the box for SVC.
The Eagles were led by sophomore Chanleigh Casey who had five kills, and assisting those was senior Jennifer McGuire who tallied 12 assists. Senior Olesea Cojohari led GMC with 17 digs.
Coach Stokes said, "Taking five days off sometimes can slow a team down when they have momentum. Although we were rusty at times, being back on the court showed that we are preparing ourselves for two huge matches this Saturday."
The Mountaineers close out the regular season on the road with an NECC tri-match at Lesley University versus the Lynx and Elms College. Please go to www.svcathletics.com to get the NECC Playoff schedule for women's volleyball that begins next week.
