Women’s Volleyball Downs Newbury College, 3-1

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore middle hitter JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) smashed a collegiate career-high and match-best 23 kills to help pace the Blazers to a 3-1 (25-18, 25-27, 25-23, 25-22) victory over Newbury College in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the win, Elms improves to 3-15 on the season, 1-3 in NECC action, while Newbury falls to 9-14 overall, 3-1 in conference action.

Pickett was tremendous on the attack for the Blazers, notching her 23 kills on 46 attempts with just six misfires to register a match-high .370 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle hitter Christine Searles (Tolland, Mass.) finished four points below Pickett, picking up nine kills on 22 swings with just one miscue, and freshman outside hitter Shannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) added 11 kills and six service aces to help lift Elms to the victory.

Senior setter Erika Murphy (Torrington, Conn.) dished out 39 assists and chipped in four kills, while sophomore libero Caitlyn Larvey (Greenfield, Mass.) dug a contest-best 17 digs.

After falling behind 0-1 in the match, Newbury battled back to tie the match at one set each as Jessy Touron (Brockton, Mass.) capped a close second frame with a kill.

In the third set, Elms built a 23-16 lead and outlasted a 7-0 run by the Nighthawks that squared the stanza at 23-23. Pickett and Bolton halted the run with back-to-back kills to give the Blazers a 2-1 advantage in the match.

In the fourth frame Elms again soared to a lead, this time 24-17 before a run of five straight points highlighted by kills from Touron, Sydney Fish (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and Sarah Young (Waterloo, N.Y.) allowed Newbury to claw to within two at 24-22, before an assisted block by junior middle hitter Rachel Cowan (Ellington, Conn.) and sophomore Jacqueline Brault (Chicopee, Mass.) sealed the win for Elms.

Fish led the Nighthawks with 14 kills, followed by 10 from Touron and a seven-kill effort from Lauren Watson (Denver, Colo.). Watson added a team-best 14 digs, while Touron added 12 in the losing effort.

Elms returns to NECC action on Tuesday, Oct. 16 when it takes on Bay Path College at 8:00 p.m. at Holyoke Community College.