Volleyball Take Down Norwich, Earn Split of Tri-Match on the Road

NORTHFIELD, Vt.—The MCLA Volleyball team broke through to pick up their first win of the season this afternoon as part of a tri-match hosted by Norwich University at Andrews Hall. The Trailblazers dropped their first game of the afternoon, falling to the Regis College Pride 3-1, but stormed back to take their second match of the day over the hosting Cadets by the same 3-1 score.
MATCH #1:
- Date: Saturday, September 14, 2024
- Score: Regis 3, MCLA 1
- Records: Regis College Pride 8-3 (GNAC 1-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 0-7 (MASCAC 0-0)
- Series History: The all-time series is tied 2-2, with two results unknown. The Pride won the last meeting on September 26, 2016, by a score of 3-0 at Regis. MCLA won the first meeting 3-0 on October 23, 1979.
WHAT HAPPENED (Game #1)
- The teams split the first two sets, with Regis taking the first set 25-15 before MCLA responded by taking the second set 25-18. The final two sets both went to the Pride by scores of 25-16 and 25-15.
- Junior outside hitter Elizabeth Brown (Lee, MA) recorded a team-high eight kills to go with a service ace and an assisted block to finish with a team-high 9.5 points. Fellow junior outside hitter Audrey Melson (Champlin Park, MN) finished with seven kills.
- The Trailblazers had ten service aces, getting two each from Chloie Garber (Eagle River, AK), Julia Graham (Chittenango, NY), and Beth Harris (San Antonio, TX).
- For the Pride, Avery Mola had a game-high 13 kills and ten more from Ayla Albers. Ahnasia Mckinney added 15 points on nine kills, five service aces, and two assisted blocks, trailing only Mola's 15.5 game-high point total.
MATCH #2:
- Date: Saturday, September 14, 2024
- Score: MCLA 3, Norwich 1
- Records: MCLA Trailblazers 1-7 (MASCAC 0-0) | Norwich University Cadets 1-7 (GNAC 0-1)
- Series History: Norwich leads the all-time series 10-6, including a 3-0 home victory by MCLA in the last meeting on September 9, 2023. Norwich took the first meeting 3-2 on October 18, 2007, at Norwich.
HIGHLIGHTS (Game #2)
- MCLA took the first two sets by scores of 25-19 and 25-16. The Cadets held off a sweep by taking the third set 25-21, but then the Trailblazers rolled in the fourth set 25-13.
- Brown finished with a game-high 14 kills but trailed only Garber's 15.5 points on 11 kills, four aces, and an assisted block for MCLA.
- Junior setter Shannon O'Brien (Unionville, CT) had a season-high 22 assists for the Trailblazers.
- With a game-high 23 digs, MCLA's Ezmeralda Albright (Loves Park, IL) paced the defensive effort for the Trailblazers. The visitors would finish with a 64-56 advantage in the digs category.
- As part of her team-high 11 points, Norwich's Bella Belinda Ray had seven kills and four service aces. Ava Nihill and Autumn Parkhurst led the hosts with 10 assists each.
UP NEXT:
On Tuesday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to New England College for a non-conference matchup with the Pilgrims at Bridges Gym. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.