BOSTON, Mass. – The New England College women's volleyball team saw their season come to an end on Tuesday night in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinals, falling in three sets to the number one seed, Emmanuel College, in three sets at the Jean Yawkey Center.
Entering the postseason with a 27-1 record, the Saints quickly showed why they were the top seed in the GNAC tournament, riding a 17-6 run to close out a dominant first set, 25-11. Emmanuel had 16 kills and four service aces in the set to jump out to a 1-0 lead.
The Pilgrims shook off the first set loss, keeping it close in the second. While Emmanuel held an early 5-2 lead, NEC hung around and eventually took the lead at 10-9. A quick 4-0 run for the Saints, however, triggered an NEC timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the 'Grims pulled within as many as two at 19-21, but ultimately conceded the second set, 19-25.
The third set was back-and-forth with the two teams deadlocked at 11-11. Emmanuel would take a narrow 18-17 before closing it out with a 7-1 run to complete the sweet and advance to the GNAC semifinals. The duo of Letitia Bossou and Isabella Marquez combined for 25 of the team's 39 kills.
For the Pilgrims, freshman Teagan Saner (Plains, Mont.) led the team with seven kills and a .217 hitting percentage while chiming in 1.5 blocks. Junior Tyra Kelly (Fresno, Calif.) added five kills. Graduate Alexandra Seijas-Quea (Fort Myers, Fla.) paced the 'Grims with 12 assists and added 10 digs. Sharing a tie for the team-lead with 12 digs a-piece were the senior duo of Kristina Cardello (Peabody, Mass.) and Lily-Anne Heywood (Derry, N.H.).
Emmanuel College will host the winner of #4 Rivier and #5 Regis in the next round.
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