NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - The New England College women's volleyball team endured a tough three-set loss to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) on Tuesday night in the team's final tune-up before beginning conference play. 

MCLA opened up a sizable lead in the first set thanks to a 9-0 run that turned an 8-7 Trailblazer lead into a 17-7 cushion. The 'Grims did respond with a 4-0 run thanks to three consecutive kills from freshman Teagan Saner (Plains, Mont.) who got the start and tallied a team-high four kills in the set. NEC would ultimately concede the first set, 16-25.  

The Pilgrims jumped out to an early lead in set number two with senior Jamie Hansen (New Underwood, S.D.) supplying three quick kills. While MCLA would tie the set at 6-all, a monster 11-3 NEC run would put the 'Grims in the drivers' seat. But the Trailblazers wouldn't go away, pulling within six by the time NEC had match point at 24-18. The hosts fought off six match points in a row to tie the set up at 24-24 before winning two more points to take the second set, 26-24. 

The Trailblazers were seeking the three-set sweep in the third and the set remained close until the very end. The Pilgrims pulled within one point at a score of 19-20 before MCLA won four of the next five points for match point. Back-to-back kills by NEC prompted an MCLA timeout to slow down the comeback attempt. On the ensuing point, a service error put the NEC bid to rest and gave the third and final set to the Trailblazers. 

The two teams matched each other's mark with 35 kills on the night, but the largest difference came in hitting percentage: MCLA's .220 hitting percentage was about twice as high as NEC's at .111 as attack errors played a huge role in the outcome. 

For NEC, junior Samantha Winters (Dover, N.H.) continued her strong play this season with a team-leading 10 kills and six digs. Saner set a new career-high with five kills in the early goings of her freshman season while sophomore LisaRaye Placencio (Maricopa, Ariz.) tied a career-best mark of five kills that she recorded against MCLA a year ago.  

Senior Aurora Gutierrez-Macias (El Paso, Tex.) and graduate Alexandra Seijas-Quea (Fort Myers, Fla.) both hit double-digit assists with 14 and 11, respectively. Senior Kristina Cardello (Peabody, Mass.) tallied a seasons-best 17 digs as she continues to near the program's all-time record – now sitting just 26 digs away.  

The Pilgrims now look ahead to their conference opener against Norwich on Friday with the road matchup beginning at 4:00 PM. 

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