POULTNEY, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College Mountaineers women’s volleyball team upended the Green Mountain College Eagles 3-1 in non-conference action Thursday evening. Junior outside-hitter Ashliy Veliz led the way for SVC with 24 kills (.236). Southern Vermont’s last win over the Eagles was in 2007 and Head Coach Josh Stokes was stoked with the result, “I am happy we ended a two year drought against Green Mountain.”
After capturing the first game 25-26, the Green Mountain College Eagles dropped three straight to fall to 3-6 on the season, while the Mountaineers eclipse the .500 mark at 4-3 (most wins since 2007).
In an evenly contested first game, the Eagles were able to break a 24-24 deadlock, reeling off the last three points to take a 1-0 lead. Senior Olesea Cojohari started the run with a service ace followed by a kill before SVC outside-hitter Ashliy Veliz was charged with an attacking error to close out the opening game.
The Mountaineers re-grouped and took control of the contest, grabbing game two 25-18 followed by a 25-15 victory in game three. SVC closed out their fourth win of the season with a decisive 25-14 win in the fourth.
Hershey Canta, last week’s New England Collegiate Conference Player of the Week, closed out game two for SVC with two of her game-high seven service aces to go along with 31 assists and 12 digs on the night.
Leading 12-9 in the fourth game, the Mountaineers exploded for 11 straight points to put the game out of reach with Stephanie Berard and Joanna Hogue powering the run with a pair of service aces each.
The Eagles couldn’t gain a foothold in the final game, falling behind 14-4 early before falling 25-14.
Veliz notched 24 kills, 13 digs and the matches only block for the Mountaineers while Hogue recorded a game high 28 digs.
Cojohari lead the Eagles with eight kills, three aces and 12 digs while Jennifer tallied 15 assists.
The Mountaineers are back in action on Sunday, September 19, when it hosts a tri-match between Castleton State College and Curry College in the Mountaineer Athletic Center. The matches are 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.