HENNIKER, N.H. – The NEC women's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 conference defeat on Saturday, falling on their home court to Simmons University in straight sets (17-25, 20-25, 17-25).
With the loss, NEC falls to 2-2 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play while the Sharks remained undefeated at 5-0. The Simmons duo of Addison Evans and Hannah Pridgeon proved tough to stop as they combined for 30 kills on the day. The Sharks posted a .345 hitting percentage to the Pilgrims' .184.
Service errors plagued the 'Grims early as Simmons quickly took over the first set. NEC finished the first set on a high note but could not overcome the early deficit. The strong finish carried over into the beginning of the second set, but Simmons responded as the two teams went back-and-forth throughout the set. A 6-2 run to close things out gave the Sharks a 2-0 set lead. The Pilgrims held a brief lead at the beginning of the third set before Pridgeon took over with six kills in the set en route to a 25-17 set win to secure the sweep.
For the 'Grims, sophomore Teagan Saner (Plains, Mont.) led the way with seven kills while the duo of junior LisaRaye Placencio (Maricopa, Ariz.) and senior Maeve Amarosa (Madbury, N.H.) each had five. Amarosa posted a very efficient .625 hitting percentage with no attack errors on the afternoon.
Setters graduate Alexandra Seijas-Quea (Fort Myers, Fla.) and sophomore Maddy Rollinson (Hamden, Conn.) each posted 12 assists, while senior Tyra Kelly (Fresno, Calif.) had two total blocks and junior Emma Bernard (Chester, N.H.) served up three aces.
The 'Grims will look to pick up a conference win on Tuesday, October 6th, as Mitchell comes to town for a 6:00 PM matchup at Bridges Gym.
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