FRANKLIN, Mass.-Freshman
Kayleigh MacDougall (Farmington, N.H.) tallied six kills and six aces to lead the New England College volleyball team to its third win of the season, 3-0 over Dean College on Tuesday evening.
With the win, NEC improves to 3-6, while Dean falls to 2-3. Set scores were 25-15, 25-19, and 25-18.
Both teams tallied 23 kills each, but the biggest difference between the two teams came in attack errors-NEC committed just 11, while Dean made 20 attack errors on the day. Dean also committed four more serving errors than the Pilgrims.
NEC LEADERS
In addition to MacDougall, the Pilgrims picked up seven kills and three blocks from
Kaitlyn Walker (Cottonwood, Calif.), and five kills from
Jada Small (Coconut Creek, Fla.).
Setter
Gabryella Serrano (Bridgewater, Mass.) dished out 14 assists, while libero Meaghan Six (Manchester, N.H.) tallied 14 digs for her seventh-consecutive match in double-figures.
DEAN LEADERS
Dean's Aminah Tsonga tallied a match-best nine kills, followed by Kaitlyn Anderson with seven.
Sami Mulcahy scooped up 17 digs, while Melanie Rios-Nevarez dished out 17 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pilgrims raced out early and took the first set in relatively easy fashion, posting a 25-15 win. Dean was as close as 12-10 after a Kaitlyn Anderson kill, but NEC ran off 11 of the next 14 points to take a commanding lead in the set.
The Bulldogs were ahead early in the second frame following an Anderson kill and they were still close later on in the set when a Mulcahy service ace had them within two at 12-10.
As they did in the first set, however, the Pilgrims used a scoring spree this time a 7-2 burst - that gave them control at 19-14. Dean didn't go away, however, as a Samantha Trullo kill got the Bulldogs to within three at 23-19. NEC then wrapped up the set with back-to-back points capped by a Walker putdown.
The third started out all Dean as they jumped out to an early 4-0 as Anderson delivered a pair of kills and Rios-Nevarez notched a service ace.
NEC wasted little time turning the tide to their favor and when they took their first lead at 9-8, they never relinquished the lead again.
Their lead grew to as many as seven at 21-14 until an Tsongah kill stopped their momentum but in the end, the Pilgrims proved to be too much posting the match-clinching 25-18 victory.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Pilgrims return home for a tri-match on Saturday as part of Fall Festival Weekend. NEC will face Nichols at 10:00 a.m. and will play Elms at 2:00 p.m.
