GORHAM, Maine. - A record-breaking night for one of the seniors on the NEC women's volleyball team was spoiled by a late comeback from the University of Southern Maine Huskies who won the match in a back-and-forth battle of a fifth set. 

The 'Grims got off to a hot start, winning the first four points and racing out to a 9-2 lead on five early kills including two from sophomore LisaRaye Placencio (Maricopa, Ariz.). After a slight rebound from the Huskies brought the score to 10-6, four consecutive kills from junior Maeve Amarosa (Madbury, N.H.) and freshman Teagan Saner (Plains, Mont.), all of which were set up by senior Aurora Gutierrez-Macias (El Paso, Tex.), jumpstarted a 12-5 Pilgrim run. NEC kept their foot on the gas and finished out the first set, 25-15. 

Just as with the first set, the Pilgrims came out locked in at the beginning of set number two. They won the first five points of the set, though USM responded with five straight of their own. A 4-0 NEC answer put the visitors back on top, 9-5. 

At 13-8 in the second set, senior Kristina Cardello (Peabody, Mass.) tallied her seventh dig of the match, tying the school's all-time digs record with 1,121 career digs. Six points later, Cardello recorded the 1,122nd dig of her NEC career, surpassing previous record holder, Jaycie Kodama, and standing alone atop the school's all-time list.  

Up 16-12, three service aces by graduate Alexandra Seijas-Quea (Fort Myers, Fla.) and a kill from junior Tyra Kelly (Fresno, Calif.) fueled the Pilgrims to a 9-7 run to close out the second set, 25-19, taking the 2-0 advantage after two sets.  

The Huskies did not go away after conceding the two-set advantage, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the third set. Southern Maine would go on to take the set, 25-13, sending, for the first time this season, an NEC match to a fourth set. The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle until the Huskies pulled away to send the match to a fifth and final set.  

The winner-take-all fifth set, played to 15, saw eight ties and 10 lead changes, culminating in a 13-13 game. Back-to-back points by the Huskies would cap off the come-from-behind victory for the hosts after dropping the first two sets of the evening. 

Kelly had a team-high 12 kills including three in the final set as well as a monstrous five blocks at the net. Cardello ended her record-breaking night with 18 digs, while Seijas-Quea had a season-high 16 assists, matched a career-best with 14 digs, and added five service aces. 

The Pilgrims now return home for a GNAC tri-match on Saturday, September 27th, facing off against Saint Joseph's College of Maine and Albertus Magnus College at Bridges Gym. 

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