NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College played host to the first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball tri-match of the year on Saturday afternoon, welcoming in Simmons College and Norwich University.
The Mustangs dropped both of their matches in straight sets, while Simmons also took a 3-0 decision over Norwich in the middle match of the day.
Simmons 3, Mount Ida 0
The Sharks improved to 2-1 in the GNAC, winning by scores of 25-14, 25-8 and 25-21, while Mount Ida suffered their first loss in conference play this year.
Hillary Kostner (Corona, Calif.) had five kills over two sets, and Nicole Peixoto (New Bedford, Mass.) dished out 12 assists while also collecting a team-high three service aces for the Mustangs.
Mount Ida libero Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) led all players with 12 digs. Kostner dug out seven balls herself, while junior Nicole Batakis (East Longmeadow, Mass.) collected four kills and hit .500 for the match.
A balanced attack saw Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) lead the Sharks with 7 kills, and Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) hand out 20 assists.
Senior Megan Chamberlin (Milford, Mass.) contributed four kills and co-led Simmons with 11 digs, along with libero Alex Itasaka (Bradford, Mass.).
Simmons 3, Norwich 0
Simmons won the first two game comfortably, at 25-16 and 25-13 before holding off a charging Cadets team for a 25-21 third set victory.
Chamberlin was dominant in this match, registering 14 kills with a .375 hitting percentage on 32 total attempts. Defensively, the Sharks were led by the work of Morgan Kieon (N. Attleboro, Mass.), who had 16 digs and 13 digs apiece from Kat Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) and Itasaka.
Duke set up 21 assists for the Sharks, who improved to 4-15 on the year and remained perfect in the GNAC, with a 3-0 record.
The Cadets were paced by eight kills apiece from Tara Lyons (Pocasset, Mass.) and Angie Hershberger (Felton, Calif.).
Junior Alex Palmer (South Windsor, Conn.) had a team-high 14 digs, while also scoring seven kills of her own.
Junior setter Corinne Baita (Rochester, N.H.) assisted on 21 points for the Cadets, who fell to 0-1 in conference play.
Norwich 3, Mount Ida 0
The closest of matches on the day saw the Cadets emerge with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-23 sweep, which helped them earn their first GNAC victory (1-1).
The Mustangs fell to 3-14 and suffered defeat in their first two conference games of the year, despite a 21-dig effort by Koolman.
Kostner, Abbey Fedigan (New Fairfield, Conn.) and Katelyn Wickert (Chesapeake, Va.) each tallied five kills to lead Mount Ida, with Peixoto grabbing 25 assists and three more service aces.
Koolman also aced the Cadets on two serves, while freshman Lucianna Medici (Riverside, R.I.) had ten digs in a losing effort.
Junior Kelsey Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) was in on two solo blocks and three assisted blocks while leading the Cadets with seven kills, while Palmer and Lyons had six kills each for Norwich.
Baita tallied 22 assists and senior Jennette Chartrand (Poestenkill, N.Y.) led the visitors with 10 digs in the game.
Mount Ida will stay at home for a non-conference game against UMass Dartmouth on October 1st at 6:00 pm.
Norwich next plays at Vermont rival Lyndon State the same night at 7:00 pm, while Simmons will be home for a visit from WPI at the same time.