Women’s Volleyball Outlasted by Daniel Webster College, 3-1

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College sophomore outside hitter Alexandra Mack (Wilbraham, Mass.) floored a team-high 15 kills and junior middle hitter JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) notched a team-best 18 digs, but Daniel Webster College used 19 kills from Samantha Betts (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and 19 digs from Maggie Belli (Miami, Fla.) to help seal a 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21) victory in Tuesday evening's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss, Elms moves to 5-16 overall, 1-5 in NECC action, while Daniel Webster improves to 7-8 overall, 4-1 in conference play.

After Daniel Webster posted a 2-0 lead in the match, Elms answered back on the strength of a 6-0 run with the score set at 12-9 in favor of the Blazers to extend that advantage to 18-9. The Eagles rallied within four on a service ace by Sarah Durocher (Keene, N.H.) to make it 24-20, but an attacking error by Daniel Webster on the ensuing play allowed Elms to take the set and set the match at 2-1.

Elms hit .289 in the third frame and battled through three tie scores and a lead change earn its victory.

In the fourth set, Daniel Webster led by as many as seven points (18-11) but the Blazers were able to pull to within two when Pickett delivered her 10^th kill of the contest to set the score at 22-20. Back-to-back kills by Betts and Cristina Matos (Tampa, Fla.) extended the lead to 24-20 before senior opposite hitter Rachel Cowan (Ellington, Conn.) and sophomore middle hitter Joanna Krupa (Chicopee, Mass.) rose above the net for an assisted block to pull Elms back to within three. From there, Betts downed her 19^th kill of the contest to seal the win for the Eagles.

Betts registered 17 digs to go along with her 19 kills and served up three aces, while Durocher totaled 10 digs and five service aces. Setter Ally Hayden (Bedford, N.H.) dished out 33 assists and added eight digs, while Madeline Roulier (Pittsfield, Mass.) totaled nine digs and three service aces. Kiara Rodriguez (Lawrence, Mass.) finished with three aces and Matos added three assisted blocks in the winning effort.

Mack hit .275 in the losing effort, smashing 15 kills on 40 swings with just four mishits, while Pickett added 10 kills. Junior libero Caitlyn Larvey (Greenfield, Mass.) dug 16 balls, while Cowan added 13 and Mack added 12 digs behind the 18 from Pickett.

Sophomore setter Shannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) directed the offensive charge with 29 assists, while Cowan paced the team from the service line with five aces. Pickett added two solo blocks and junior middle hitter Christine Searles (Tolland, Mass.) registered a pair of aces in the loss for Elms.

Elms is back in action on Thursday, October 17 at Framingham State University in non-conference action at 7:00 p.m.