Women's Volleyball Set Career Marks in Five-Set Win at Eastern Nazarene

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

QUINCY, Mass. – The Elms College women's volleyball team registered their second straight victory with a 3-2 (25-14, 25-21, 19-25, 10-25, 15-10) win at Eastern Nazarene College Thursday night. The Blazers improve to 6-17 on the season, while the Lions dropped to 3-24 overall.

Elms raced to a 7-0 lead in the first set, paced by two kills from freshman Danielle Redding (Las Vegas, N.V.) and sophomore Kate Moriarty (Agawam, Mass.). The Blazers lead grew to 11-3 behind a pair of service aces from Redding. Elms capitalized on six attack errors by Eastern Nazarene to expand the gap to 22-10 as kills from Moriarty and sophomore Lindsay McNiff (Kingston, Mass.) polished off the 25-14 win.

In the second set, the Lions grabbed an early 8-4 lead as senior Hannah Welsh (Derry, N.H.) notched a trio of kills. Four kills from the Blazers regained a 9-8 lead for Elms. Tied at 12-12, the Lions pulled ahead on Blazers errors and two kills from junior Joanna Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) to take a 17-13 lead. Elms roared back with six straight kills, featuring three from Redding and two from Moriarty to grab control, 19-17. Tied 21-21 after trading points, the Blazers closed the set on a 4-0 run, capped off by a service ace from senior Alex Mack (Wilbraham, Mass.) to take a 25-21 win and a 2-0 match lead.

The Lions raced to a 6-1 lead in the third set, eventually pushing the advantage to 10-7. The Blazers pulled ahead, 11-10, on errors by Eastern Nazarene. Trailing 12-11, the Lions rattled off an 8-1 run to increase their advantage to 19-13. Eastern Nazarene kept the Blazers at bay and used three kills from Welsh to cap off the 25-19 win.

Welsh opened the fourth set with a kill and three services aces to give the Lions a 9-1 lead. Up 13-4, Eastern Nazarene put the set away with six consecutive points to push their advantage to 19-4. The Lions took advantage of Blazers errors down the stretch to even the match at 2-2 with a 25-10 win.

The Blazers regrouped for the final set, using four attack errors and two kills from McNiff to take a 7-0 lead out of the gates. A kill from Redding gave Elms a 9-2 advantage, but the Lions were able to trim the deficit to 10-7 on back-to-back kills from sophomore Kayla Dean (Lansdale, Pa.) and Welsh, along with an ace from Dean. Two Blazers attack errors and a kill from Welsh made it an 11-9 game. Elms gained momentum on back-to-back kills from Mack and Moriarty, followed by a pair of errors by Eastern Nazarene, and Redding powered home the game-winning kill for the five-set victory.

Redding registered her third straight double-double, and fourth of the season, with a career-high 20 kills and 12 digs. McNiff set her career mark in kills with 15, along with 12 digs, while Moriarty added eight kills and 15 digs. Junior Carolyn Campbell (Millers Fall, Mass.) dished out a career-high 35 assists, while freshman Caroline Locke (West Springfield, Mass.) grabbed 15 digs with three service aces.

Welsh notched her second triple-double of the season, finishing with 20 digs, 19 kills, 11 assists and seven aces. Dean collected 18 assists, 12 digs and eight kills. Sophomore Oksana DiCamillo (Eighty-Four, Pa.) recorded 19 digs while sophomore Madisen Robinson (West Grove, Pa.) chipped in with 12 digs.

The Blazers will close out the 2015 regular season with a conference road trip to Lesley Saturday evening for a 6:00 p.m. match. Eastern Nazarene heads to Endicott for a tri-match against the Gulls and St. Joseph's (Conn.) Saturday.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL