QUINCY, Mass. - The Eastern Nazarene College women's volleyball team picked up its first Commonwealth Coast Conference victory of the season as the Lions posted a 3-0 victory over Wentworth Tuesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.
With the win the Lions improve to 10-13 on the year and 1-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Leopards fall to 13-8 overall and 1-4 in league matches with the loss.
Eastern Nazarene edged Wentworth 27-25 in the opening frame to capture a 1-0 lead. The Lions doubled their advantage to 2-0 with a 25-21 win in the second set before closing out the win with a 25-19 decision in the third set.
Cayla Clinkscale (Winchendon, Mass.) notched 15 kills, seven digs and four aces. Kortney Jenkins (Bunker Hill, W.V.) tallied 13 kills and 18 digs on the night. Hannah Welsh (Derry, N.H.) finished with nine kills and a match-high 21 digs while Vanessa Pascal (Marlborough, Mass.) recorded 13 digs and five kills. Rookie Lauryl Berger (Laurel, Del.) dished out 41 assists while also adding 10 digs.
Leann Williams (Oxford, Pa.) and Welsh combined to post three blocks each in the victory.
Sheena Dignean (Constantia, N.Y.) paced Wentworth with eight kills on the night, while Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) and Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) had seven kills apiece. Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) tallied 21 digs and a pair of aces and Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) had 26 assists.
In the first set of the match, Eastern Nazarene rattled off eight unanswered points to claim a 13-9 lead.
Wentworth battled back to seize a 15-13 edge. The Leopards maintained the lead and pushed the margin to 24-21.
Facing set point, the Lions clawed back into the set with three straight points to level the game at 24-24. The visitors tallied the ensuing point to go ahead 25-24 as Dignean notched a kill. However, Eastern Nazarene responded with the final three points of the set to prevail 27-25.
After the Lions grabbed a 15-11 lead in the second frame, Wentworth rallied to tie the score at 15-15. The hosts reclaimed a three-point edge, 19-16 as Pascal served up an ace. Eastern Nazarene capped off the set with a kill and an ace by Jenkins, claiming the game 25-21.
The two sides traded points in the third frame, splitting the opening 20 points as the two teams were deadlocked at 10-10. With the score tied at 14-14, the Lions tacked on five consecutive points to stretch their lead to 19-14.
After Wentworth got a point back, Eastern Nazarene collected four straight points to widen the gap to 23-15. The Leopards battled back with four unanswered points to cut the deficit to 23-19 before the Lions regrouped with a timeout after the four-point run by the visitors. The home team responded by netting the final two points of the match to secure the victory.
Both teams are in action Thursday night as Eastern Nazarene hosts Daniel Webster and Wentworth travels to Lesley.
