HENNIKER, N.H. – It was a big night for senior Tyra Kelly (Fresno, Calif.) who led the Pilgrims with 11 kills and a career-high 10 total blocks as NEC took down Mitchell College in four sets on Tuesday evening.
It was perhaps a career-best performance for Kelly, whose 11 kills came with a .579 hitting percentage, while her 10 total blocks were four more than any other game in her career. She now leads the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) with 48 total blocks this season.
Joining Kelly with a big-time individual performance was graduate Alexandra Seijas-Quea (Fort Myers, Fla.) who set season-highs with 24 assists, 15 digs, and tacked on three service aces and two kills. Meanwhile, senior Lily Cunanan (Woonsocket, R.I.) was all over the court with a career-high 21 digs in an overall dominant defensive effort. Sophomore Maddy Rollinson (Hamden, Conn.) also had a strong showing with 13 assists and seven digs while serving well all night.
The Pilgrims brushed off a slow start to take a dominant first set, 25-14. Senior Maeve Amarosa (Madbury, N.H.) had four of her 10 kills in the set while NEC used five blocks and four service aces to coast to a 1-0 advantage.
The second set went back-and-forth until the 'Grims looked to be on the verge of going up 2-0 with a 22-18 lead. But the Mariners showed plenty of fight, ending the set on an 8-2 run including winning each of the final five points to tie things up at 1-1.
NEC jumped out to an early lead in the third set, leading by as many as nine points. They would take the set, 25-20, behind four kills from Kelly and four from junior Emma Bernard (Chester, N.H.).
The Pilgrims went on a hot streak towards the beginning of set number three, using a 13-2 run to grab a big lead. But then the tides turned, and the Mariners rode the wave to a 13-3 run of their own to pull within two, 20-18. Coming out of an NEC timeout, the Pilgrims managed to win five straight points to snuff out the Mitchell comeback and earn their third conference victory of the season.
It was a true block party for the 'Grims as they totaled 15 blocks to the Mariners zero. The 15 blocks are the team's most in a single game since October 16th, 2021. While Kelly led the way with 10 total blocks, Bernard had six block assists, and both sophomore Victoria Barragan (El Paso, Tex.) and junior LisaRaye Placencio (Maricopa, Ariz.) had five assisted blocks.
Next up, the Pilgrims hit the road this weekend, visiting Lasell University on Saturday, October 10th, for an 11:00 AM conference matchup against the preseason favorite Lasers before facing Smith College in non-conference play at 1:00 PM.
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