No. 4 Newbury College Rallies Past Fifth-Seeded Women’s Volleyball, 3-2
BROOKLINE, Mass. – Elms College junior outside hitter Stacy Croteau (Agawam, Mass.) but Jesymarian Touron (Brockton, Mass.) smashed a match-best 26 kills to help lift fourth-seeded Newbury College to a 3-2 (21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17, 15-5) victory over the fifth-seeded Blazers in Tuesday night's quarterfinal match of the 2010 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's volleyball championship tournament at Hellenic College.
With the loss, Elms concludes its season at 7-20 overall. Newbury advances to the semifinals where they will take on top-seeded Daniel Webster College (17-6) on Friday, Nov. 5.
After Elms took a 2-0 lead in the contest, Newbury answered winning the next three sets to post a thrill come-from-behind victory.
The Nighthawks began their rally by posting a 21-11 advantage in the third set before Elms scored eight of the next 10 points to pull to within four at 23-19 highlighted by a kill each from Croteau, junior outside hitter Jenn Rego (Fall River, Mass.) and sophomore outside hitter Christina Martin (Chicopee, Mass.). From there, a kill by Newbury's Tricia Corriveau (Coventry, R.I.) and a bad set by the Blazers gave the Nighthawks the third set victory.
After playing to six ties early in the fourth frame, Newbury opened up a 23-14 advantage before a 3-1 run by Elms pulled the Blazers to with seven at 24-17, but a Corriveau kill secured the victory for the Nighthawks and evened the contest at 2-2.
In the deciding fifth set, Newbury posted a 4-3 lead before erupting for eight straight points on the strength of single kills by Sarah Young (Waterloo, N.Y.), Kerri McAuley (Middleboro, Mass.) and Touron, an assisted block from McAuley and Touron, and four Elms miscues to stake a commanding 12-3 lead in the stanza. A pair of Nighthawks errors cut the lead to 12-5, but an assisted block from McAuley and Regina Sibilia (Agawam, Mass.), an ace from Touron and a kill by Corriveau allowed Newbury to seal the match and punch its ticket to the semifinals.
Rego finished with eight kills and a team-high 25 digs while freshman setter Ashley Fuller (Amherst, Mass.) notched 27 assists in the losing effort.
Fuller and senior middle hitter Melissa Clark (Chicopee, Mass.) totaled 18 digs each while Croteau and freshman defensive specialist Megan Grygorcewicz (Easthampton, Mass.) added 13 and 10 digs respectively.
Corriveau added 10 kills and 15 digs in the winning effort for Newbury while Sibilia dished out 48 assists.
Amy Chen (Chelmsford, Mass.) led the defensive effort digging a sensational 34 balls, while Touron dug 24 of her own. Young added 18 digs and Sibilia totaled 11 digs to highlight five Nighthawks with double-digit digs.
