NASHUA, N.H. – The Southern Vermont College women's volleyball team took a 2-0 lead over the hosting Daniel Webster College Eagles, dropped a set but then stormed back late in the fourth to take a 3-1 victory in a matchup of New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) foes Sunday at Mario Vagge Gymnasium.
SVC won with set scores of 25-21, 25-23, 20-25 and 26-24.
Southern Vermont (9-7, 6-0 NECC), which maintained sole possession of first place in the NECC, answered with 13 kills and 15 digs from junior Jessica Delgado (Los Angeles, Calif.) and 11 kills apiece from junior Marissa Flores (Azusa, Calif.) and senior Carrie Baltazar (Whittier, Calif.).
DWC (8-11, 4-2 NECC) saw a standout performance by freshman Samantha Betts (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) who knocked down career-highs of 26 kills, 28 digs, seven aces and three solo blocks, while Madeline Roulier (Pittsfield, Mass.) added 16 kills and 22 digs.
Ally Hayden (Bedford, N.H.) handed out 39 assists for the Eagles while sophomore Sheilani Kaleopa (Riverside, Calif.) dished off 33 assists for the Mountaineers.
Flores added 21 digs for the winners, while senior Vanessa Ruelas (Paramount, Cal.) added a match-best 31 digs. Maggie Belli (Miami, Fla.) had 25 digs for DWC.
The match was evenly played throughout as DWC edged SVC in total kills (47-46), assists (45-43) and aces (12-9) and hit slightly better than the Mountaineers (.152-.131).
Remarkably, the two teams staged terrific defense combining for 209 digs, a DWC program single-match record for two teams, with the Eagles pulling in 106 and SVC pulling in 103.
Roulier led all hitters with six kills in an opening set that saw nine ties and only two lead changes as SVC led from 12-11 on, keyed by a pair of kills each from Baltazar, Delgado and freshman Brin Goldman (Christiansted, Virgin Islands).
After hitting just .056 in the opener, SVC heated up to hit .195 in the second and took control with a key 10-1 run midway through the set behind three-straight Delgado kills to turn a 14-11 deficit into a 20-15 lead.
DWC would make a late run and close within 24-23 on a Sarah Durocher (Keene, N.H.) ace, but Delgado added her fifth and final kill of the set to seal the 25-23 win.
The Eagles turned things around in the third, hitting .257 as Betts erupted for nine kills and the Eagles trailed only once. Roulier banged down four kills and Betts knocked down DWC's final three kills for the five-point win.
Betts added seven more kills in the fourth while Roulier added five, but SVC saw a balance of three kills from five players.
DWC took control early building leads as large as 17-11 and 21-13 and had SVC at set point (24-19) after another Betts kill.
But kills from Delgado, Flores, and Ruelas helped spark a wild comeback including a Baltazar ace and Eagle error that gave the Mountaineers the 26-24 comeback win.
Southern Vermont looks to a pivotal Wednesday home match against Newbury College set for 6 p.m. The Eagles return to action on Wednesday when they visit Mitchell College for a league matchup at 7 p.m.