Women's Volleyball Sweep Mitchell On Senior Day

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's volleyball team downed visiting Mitchell College in straight sets, 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-8), in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) clash at Picknelly Arena Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Blazers rise to 15-9 and 5-0 in the NECC, while the Mariners dip to 1-4 in conference and 1-16 on the season.

Prior to the contest, the Blazers honored their lone departing senior Kate Moriarty (Agawam, Mass.) for her dedication to the program.

The Blazers grabbed a 7-3 lead in the first set behind two kills and an ace from freshman Ayanna Meadows (Springfield, Mass.). Elms pushed to a 14-7 advantage with two kills from junior Danielle Redding (Las Vegas, N.V.), and then freshman Dakota Stewart (Victoria, Texas) served up a trio of aces to escort the lead to 19-7. The Blazers wrapped up the 25-11 win with strikes from Meadows, Redding, and Moriarty.

The Mariners held a 5-2 lead early in the second set as senior Lauren Tompkins (Prospect, Conn.) recorded a pair of aces. Elms pulled even on Mitchell errors, but the Mariners maintained an edge with tallies from seniors Myia Williams (Roselle, N.J.) and Tanisha Ruiz (Bristol, Conn.) to lead 10-6. The Blazers grabbed control with a pair of aces from junior Rachel Magnuson (Miller Place, N.Y.) and two kills from Moriarty to harness a 13-11 advantage. Leading 17-14, the Blazers pulled away down the stretch behind aces from Stewart, Redding and freshman Laleiska Martinez-Santiago (Springfield, Mass.) to wrap up the 25-17 win.

The Blazers cruised through the third set, rolling to an 8-2 lead on tallies from Magnuson, Meadows, and freshman Hayley Castanos (Santa Ana, Calif.). Leading 11-5, Castanos sandwiched kills around four service aces from sophomore Hannah Adams (Deerfield, Mass.) as Elms pushed their advantage to 19-5. Castanos logged three kills, while freshman Tatyana Medina (Springfield, Mass.) and Stewart added aces to lock up the 25-8 win.

Meadows led the Blazers attack with a match-high 10 kills, four digs and two aces. Castanos registered seven kills with three digs, while Redding and Moriarty chipped in four kills apiece. Stewart dished out a match-high 24 assists with a match-high seven digs and a match-high five aces. Adams notched four aces with seven digs in the win.

Nine Mariners attacked registered a kill, led by a team-high two kills and five digs from senior Italia Krick (Griswold, Conn.). Senior Megan Elphick (Waterford, Conn.) grabbed a team-high six digs with a kill and an assist, while Tompkins totaled six assists with three aces and three digs.

The Blazers will look to remain in the win column when they host Becker College in NECC action Wednesday at Picknelly Arena at 7:00 p.m. Mitchell hosts Newbury in conference play Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL