Women's Volleyball Battles Becker, St. Joe's in Tri-Match

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches while hosting a tri-match at Picknelly Arena Saturday afternoon. The Blazers fell to Becker College in their New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) opener, 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-17), and then dropped a three setter to the University of St. Joseph's (CT), 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-9). St. Joseph's (CT) defeated Becker, 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-16). The Blazers move to 3-12, and 0-1 in conference play, while Becker sits at 7-8, and 1-0 on the year, and St. Joseph's (CT) improved to 8-6 overall.

During a three-set battle with Becker, the Blazers were paced by freshman Danielle Redding (Las Vegas, N.V.) with a match-high 12 kills with five digs. Senior Alex Mack (Wilbraham, Mass.) and sophomore Lindsey McNiff (Kingston, Mass.) tallied seven kills each with McNiff matching a season high and Mack adding 13 digs. Senior Shannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) registered a match-high 26 assists, while sophomore Ashlee Connors (Springfield, Mass.) notched a season-high with 16 digs.

Senior Samantha Caouette (Montague, Mass.) led Becker with a team-high nine kills and three digs. Freshman Kayla Dupree (North Bergen, N.J.) chipped in eight kills, nine digs, four service aces and four blocks in the win. Sophomore Charlene Landry (Gorham, Maine) dished out 15 assists with seven digs and four aces, while junior Marissa Turner (Coventry, R.I.) had five kills, eight digs and three blocks.

Against St. Joseph's, Mack charged the attack with five kills and seven digs, while McNiff and Redding contributed four kills. Redding added seven digs and three service aces. Junior Carolyn Campbell (Turner Falls, Mass.) recorded seven assists off the bench, while Bolton added five assists. Connors matched a season-high with 16 digs.

The Blue Jays had five players register five or more kills during the match, led by senior Tiffany Mapusaga (Waianae, Hawaii) with a match-high seven kills, along with 10 digs and eight assists. Junior Cassandra Grimaldi (Manchester, Conn.), senior Emily Vigue (Lebanon, Conn.), and freshman Sarah Lipinski (Farmington, Conn.) tallied six kills apiece. Lipinski added 11 digs and a match-high five service aces, while Vigue contributed 11 digs and five assists. Sophomore Hannah Lemek (Bristol, Conn.) had five kills in the win.

The Blazers will be back in action with a road trip to Southern Vermont College for a conference match Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. Becker College travels to Newbury for a NECC tilt Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. St. Joseph's will host Curry College Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL