NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The Mount Ida College women's volleyball team trailed early on against Mitchell College in a non conference match in New London, Conn. but roared back to defeat the Mariners by a final of 3-2 (26-28, 25-18, 23-25, 25-14, 15-12) in the five set match that went the distance.
Three players finished with double-digit kills on the night for the Mustangs, who improved to 4-7 overall. Mary Kate Reidy (Agawam, Mass./Agawam) led Mount Ida with 12 kills while Taylor Davis (Machiasport, Maine/Washington Academy) added 11 and Alysha Dunbar (Quincy, Mass./Quincy) finished with 10. Nicole Peixoto (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) dished out a match-high 42 assists while Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H./Bedford) contributed 19 digs.
Junior Amanda Garcia (New Britain, Conn./New Britain) led Mitchell (2-6 overall) with a match-high 16 kills on 33 attempts. Classmates Nicole Caminiti (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Churchill School & Center) and Kaisea Caramante (Old Lyme, Conn./Lyme-Old Lyme) chipped in with 26 assists and 17 digs, respectively.
In the climactic fifth set, Mitchell led in the early going until Mount Ida fought back to take its first lead at 6-5. The Mustangs increased the margin to 10-7 before the Mariners responded to tie the set at 12-12. After a Mitchell service error gave Mount Ida the lead and the serve, Maryssa Dwyer (Quincy, Mass./Quincy) closed out the match with a pair of aces to seal the victory.
Mitchell won the first and third sets to take control of the match. In the opening set, the Mariners led by as many as six before the Mustangs bounced back and tied the game at 23-23. Each team then had a chance to serve for the set but came up empty. Mitchell finally came through on its third set point of the stanza as freshman Janelle Rice (Meriden, Conn./O.H. Platt) rocketed a serve that was returned to the net, and Garcia spiked the ball down for her fifth kill of the set.
Peixoto opened the fourth set by serving for four straight points to give the Mustangs some breathing room. Mount Ida never trailed in the stanza and, despite eight attack errors, came away with a comfortable win to force the final set.
Davis and Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md./Rising Sun) each recorded a pair of kills for the Mustangs in the fifth set. Mount Ida finished with a 50-36 advantage in kills for the match and an 11-7 edge in service aces.
Mitchell will next host Rhode Island College on Saturday, September 20 at 1 p.m. Mount Ida returns to action at home against both Anna Maria College (10 a.m.) and Emmanuel College (2 p.m.) on Saturday.
Some Content Courtesy of Mitchell College Sports Information.