HENNIKER, N.H.-The New England College volleyball team fell to Keene State College in their last match of the Granite State Challenge on Saturday afternoon, 3-0.

With the loss, the Pilgrims are 2-7 on the season while Keene State improves to 6-3.

NEC LEADERS
The Pilgrims were led by Tihani Ehia (Kanehoe, Hawaii) and Julia Ostrov (Mililani, Hawaii) who had three kills each. Dreka Griffin (Calera, Ala. had two service aces. Kennedy Somavia (Red Bluff, Calif.) and Griffin finished with 2.0 blocks each. Sydni Geisler (Rigby, Idaho) had a team-high eight digs while classmate Kenzie Barron (Clearfield, Utah) had three assists.

KEENE STATE LEADER
Emilyann Ashford led the Owls in kills with eight. Nina Dias finished with a game-high 22 assists. Ali McLoughlin and Riley Bunker had 16 and 15 digs each respectively. Elizabeth Johnson and Hannah Hoffmaster each had 2.0 blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pilgrims fell in three sets to the Owls. The first set saw the Pilgrims fall behind early 3-0 but would rally to tie the match back up. Keene State would then pull off an eight point run to open up an 11-3 lead. The lead would be too much to overcome as the teams would trade off points to close out the set by a 25-16 score.
Set two would see the team's battle and counter each other's runs as the Owls jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The Pilgrims would cut the lead to three at 11-8 but Keene State would rebound and go on another six point run and put the game out of reach with a final set score of 25-14.
Keene State would start the third set with a commanding 7-1 lead but the Pilgrims would rally and cut the lead to three at 9-6. Keene State would pull off a seven point run to give themselves a 16-6 lead. The teams would trade points and quick runs back-and-forth but the lead would be too large and the Owls would close out the set at a 25-13 score.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Pilgrims will return home for a Tuesday evening meeting with Regis College before making a trip to New Jersey to play Rutgers-Newark, Kean, and St. Joseph's-Long Island.