CHICOPEE, Mass. – After defeating Elms College earlier in the season during non-conference play, the Southern Vermont College women's volleyball team was downed 3-0 by the hosting Blazers Thursday night in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at Picknelly Arena.
EC won the match with straight-set scores of 25-16, 25-17, and 25-21.
Southern Vermont (4-16, 0-4 NECC) next heads to Regis College on Saturday for a tri-match, first playing the hosting Pride in an 11 a.m. league tilt before taking on Dean College for a 1 p.m. non-conference contest.
Mountaineer freshman Sarah Billow (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) led her team with six kills, adding 11 digs on the defensive side of things. Sophomore Lizzy Bench (St. Petersburg, Fla.) notched a match-high 20 digs while Bennington College freshman Gaby Oropeza (Riverside, Calif.) had another 13 digs to go along with her four kills. Freshman Tay Phillips (Stephentown, N.Y.) provided another four kills and 10 digs in the effort, and senior captain Brin Goldman (St. Croix, Virgin Islands) tallied 14 assists, three digs and a pair of kills in the effort.
Elms went ahead 5-1 to start the opening set, but the Mountaineers chipped away to tie things with four-straight points. The Blazers took six of the next seven to pull back in front, only to see Southern Vermont stay in it with back-to-back kills by Phillips and Goldman. The rest would be all EC, however, as the hosts stormed to a 9-2 run to put the game away.
The Blazers went ahead 4-1 in the onset of the second frame, and an Oropeza kill couldn't stop the Elms momentum as EC pushed it to a 10-4 lead. Billow got her team back in it, landing three-straight kills to make it just a three-point deficit for SVC. The momentum would swing back towards the hosting squad, however, as Elms soon-after grabbed six straight to go up by 10. Points were traded in the late going, EC notching three in-a-row before Southern Vermont came back with four consecutive points behind another Oropeza kill (23-16). That would be it for SVC as Elms closed it out with the final three points to go up 2-0 on the night.
After EC grabbed the first four points of the third set, an Oropeza kill was followed by a Billow service ace to help get Southern Vermont back within one. The Blazers took six of the next seven to go up by six, and they would then increase their upper hand to eight midway through the game. Kills by Phillips and Billow backed the Mountaineers in winning three-straight points to make it a 19-14 EC advantage, but Elms was able to keep SVC at bay and snag four of the next five to go back in front by eight. Points went back-and-forth through the rest of the evening as the Blazers finished off the sweep to split the season series.
– #LetsGoSVC –