SHERMAN, Tex. - The New England College women's volleyball team suffered a pair of sweeps at the hands of Concordia (TX) University and tournament host Austin College on day one of their cross-country trip to the Lone Star State.
Match 1 – vs Concordia, 0-3 (14-25, 19-25, 17-25)
Concordia raced to an early 10-2 lead in the first set and never looked back. NEC came within five points of the Tornados at one point but eventually conceded the set, 14-25. Set number two proved to be a closer contest than the first as the 'Grims took an 11-10 lead on a kill by junior Samantha Winters (Dover, N.H.) who led the team with seven kills in the match. However, Concordia seized control of the set with a 5-0 run and went on to take the 2-0 set lead, 25-19. The Tornados used another quick start in the third set to complete the sweep, 25-17.
Senior Kristina Cardello (Peabody, Mass.) surpassed a big personal milestone early in the Concordia match, reaching 1,000 career digs. Cardello, who set the school's single season digs record last year with 464, now sits less than 100 digs behind the NEC all-time record. Cardello's 16 digs in match one led all players, and her 27 total digs on the day led the team.
Match 2 – vs Austin, 0-3 (16-25, 16-25, 15-25)
The Kangaroos of Austin College jumped out to a quick 6-0 advantage to kick off match two before NEC bounced back to a 6-9 scoreline. Later in the set, a pair of kills by junior transfer Tyra Kelly (Fresno, Calif.) brought the Pilgrims within four, but Austin finished the set on an 8-3 run to go up 1-0.
The second set had a back-and-forth beginning before another Kangaroos run of seven consecutive points tilted the scales in their favor. The 'Grims were nearly even the rest of the way, but the damage had been done on the run and gave the 'Roos the 25-16 set win. The third set was once again defined by a seemingly inevitable Austin College run as the hosts turned a 3-2 advantage into an 11-2 cushion. The home team would complete the sweep with a 25-15 third set victory.
Kelly led NEC with six kills in the match and tied the team-lead for the complete day with 10 kills with senior Jamie Hansen (New Underwood, S.D.). Graduate Alexandra Seijas-Quea (Fort Myers, Fla.) had a consistent nine assists in both matches to lead the team, while senior Aurora Gutierrez-Macias (El Paso, Tex.) totaled 13 assists on the day.
The team heads from Sherman to Irving, Texas on Day 2 as they are set to face off against Howard Payne University at 12:00 PM EST and the University of Dallas at 4:00 PM EST
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