HENNIKER, N.H. The New England College volleyball team earned a hard-fought five set (19-25, 20,25, 28-26, 25-21, 10-15) victory over Becker College in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Quarterfinals.

With the win, the Pilgrims will set a new program record for wins in one season with 14. The Pilgrims are 14-17 with a 7-2 record in the NECC. Becker will see their season come to a close at 12-12 with a 5-4 record in the NECC.

NEC LEADERS
Tihani Ehia(Kaneohe, Hawaii) lead the Pilgrims offensively and set a new program record for kills in one match with 25. Maggie Dadmun(Cape Elizabeth, Maine) had a game-high 35 assists.Julia Ostrov (Mililani, Hawaii) had 4.0 blocks in the contest. Ehia finished with a double-double having 21 digs.

BECKER LEADERS
Kayla Dupree led the Hawk offense with 13 kills. Olivia McGuinness finished the contest with 26 assists. Joanna Bampi had a game-high 26 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The entire contest saw one team earn a lead but the opposing team would rally as no set was decided by more than six points. The Pilgrims earned an early 7-1 lead in the set one but Becker rallied and closed the gap to one at 7-8. NEC earned a four-point lead on a Jada Small (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) service ace at 10-14 but Becker would respond with seven of the next nine points and take a 17-16 lead. The Pilgrims recorded seven kills down the stretch which powered them to the lead and ultimately the set victory.

Set two started similarly to the first as the Pilgrims earned an early 1-5 lead. The teams traded points as the lead hovered around the four-point margin until the Pilgrims earned two quick three-point runs. This would give the Pilgrims at 10-point lead. However, the Hawks would close the gap scoring nearly two points to every one Pilgrim point.

The lead would be too large to overcome though and the Pilgrims closed out the set and put themselves on match point.
The story of the third set was tie scores as the teams tied 14 times in the set. With the score at 14-14 the Pilgrims earned six of the next seven points and open up a 15-20 lead. A Becker timeout appeared to nullify the Pilgrim momentum as the Hawks came out the timeout and recorded eight of the next 11 points and tie the set at 23-23. The teams traded a few points to get passed the 25-point mark and Becker strung together two points to win the set with their backs against the wall.

Set four was a game of runs. The Pilgrims earned a three-point lead; Becker responded with five straight. The teams would trade a point each and then trade three-point runs to give Becker a 9-7 lead. The Hawks would go on a five-point run to take a six-point lead, however the Pilgrims would cut the lead in half at 18-15 after they recorded six of nine points. The Pilgrims would continue to close the gap as it would get down to one at 21-20 but Becker closed out the set by recording the last three points of the set.

The Hawks would gain an early advantage during the fifth and final set but the Pilgrims would record eight points to Becker's one headed into the halfway point of the set. The Pilgrims held a 3-8 lead which quickly disappeared as Becker would tie the set at 9-9. The Pilgrims would show their resiliency and record six of the last seven points to close out the match.


WHAT'S NEXT
The Pilgrims will travel to Eastern Nazarene College on Friday for an NECC Semifinal matchup. Eastern Nazarene is the first seed while the Pilgrims are the fourth.