HENNIKER, N.H. – Junior Emma Bernard (Chester, N.H.) exploded for 22 kills against Rivier on Wednesday night, but the NEC women's volleyball team fell to Raiders in a tightly contested four set battle at Bridges Gym.
The four-set loss (14-25, 22-25, 25-23, 32-34) was one of the 'Grims tightest matches of the year to date but drops the team to 11-10 overall and 4-5 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play.
The back-and-forth affair started in the second set where neither side led by more than three points at any time. NEC put together a strong stretch, led by six kills in the set by Bernard, to take a 22-21 lead. But Rivier closed out even stronger, winning the final five points to take the set and a 2-0 advantage.
The Pilgrims held onto a small lead for most of the third set and grew their lead to four on a kill by sophomore Teagan Saner (Plains, Mont.) to make it 21-17. After some unforced errors on both sides, NEC faced set point at 24-23 and clinched it on a Bernard kill with graduate Alexandra Seijas-Quea (Fort Myers, Fla.) on the assist.
Rivier jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth set, and led by as many as six at 10-4, but the 'Grims would recover, using a 6-0 run to tie things up. Neither team would lead by more than three points the rest of the way as they went back-and-forth with a kill by senior Tyra Kelly (Fresno, Calif.) tying things up at 24-24.
NEC would fend off four match points, while Rivier would fight back from four set points for the Pilgrims, as the fourth set turned into a marathon. While senior Maeve Amarosa (Madbury, N.H.), junior Victoria Barragan (El Paso, Tex.), and Bernard each came through with pivotal kills, it was Rivier that came through with the 34-32 victory to take the match.
Bernard shined in the long fourth set, piling up 10 of her season-high 22 kills on the night. Kelly ended with 10 kills, while Amarosa had six. Seijas-Quea, who entered the night second in the conference in service aces, added three more aces on top of a team-high 26 assists. Her 12 digs trailed only senior Lily Cunanan's (Woonsocket, R.I.) 19 digs. Junior LisaRaye Placencio (Maricopa, Ariz.) added four total blocks.
The 'Grims play their final home game of the regular season on Tuesday, October 27th, at 6:00 PM versus Norwich. Prior to the match, the team will recognize and celebrate their graduating seniors as part of senior day.
For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
