Women's Volleyball Deals SVC First NECC Loss

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's volleyball team dealt Southern Vermont its first New England Collegiate Conference loss of the season on Wednesday night in Picknelly Arena, taking an 18-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 win.

Hannah Pichardo (South Glen Falls, N.Y.) led the Blazer offense with 16 kills and just two errors to hit .326 in the contest. She added 16 digs and a pair of aces to help the Elms cause. Sabrina Christie (Agawam, Mass.) added eight kills with just one error to hit .467. Dakota Stewart (Victoria, Texas) dished out 36 assists and added 13 digs.

Kiana Lozada (Bayamon, P.R.) led Elms with 28 digs and Ayanna Meadows (Springfield, Mass.) added 25 to go along with seven kills and four aces.

Meg Maddalena (Portola, Calif.) and Liv Sowles (Sacramento, Calif.) led the Mountaineers (16-5, 5-1 NECC) with 10 kills each. Taryn Higareda (Rosmead, Calif.) dealt 33 assists for SVC and Heidy Benitez (Tulare, Calif.) racked up a match-high 30 digs. Southern Vermont hit .082 in the match.

Elms had a 106-88 advantage in digs in the match and 6-5 edge in total blocks while SVC had the advantage at the service line, finishing with 11 aces while giving up nine.

Elms will return to play with a non-conference showdown with Mount Holyoke on Oct. 19. Southern Vermont will host Becker in NECC play on Oct. 20.