Volleyball Sweeps MCLA in Home Opener, 3-0

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College women's volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Friday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center. The Lions improve to 1-0 overall on the year while the Trailblazers sink to 0-1.

The hosts eked out a 25-19 win in the first set before cruising 25-14 and 25-11 in the final two sets, respectively.

Freshman Dana Day (Coarsegold, Calif.) paced Eastern Nazarene with nine kills in the match. Cayla Clinkscale (Winchendon, Mass.) tallied eight kills while Birdina Tuiava (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Ruby Apineru (Colorado Springs, Colo.) each registered five kills on the evening.

Tuiava dished out 23 assists in the win while Kori Sorenson (Quincy, Mass.) served up a team-high three aces. Defensively, Day recorded 11 digs and Sam Losano (Elverta, Calif.) posted 10 digs.

Darien Quick and Allie Chang each scored four kills in the match for the Trailblazers.

The Lions claimed the first five points of the match before extending their lead to seven, 10-3, on a kill by Leann Williams (Oxford, Pa.).

After a timeout by the visitors, MCLA battled back to level the score at 17-17. Eastern Nazarene responded with an 8-2 run to close out the first set.

In set two, the Lions scored in bunches to pull away from the Trailblazers. The home team's strung together six consecutive points, its longest in the game, to expand the score to 23-11. Both squads scored two points down the stretch as ENC grabbed a 2-0 advantage.

The final set opened with six straight points by the Lions, fueled by a pair of kills from Clinkscale and Day. Eastern Nazarene pushed the margin to 13, 23-10, forcing MCLA to call a timeout.

After the Trailblazers notched a point coming out of the timeout, the Lions captured a pair of points to seal the victory.

Eastern Nazarene returns to action September 1 as it hosts a non-league tri-match with Lesley and Anna Maria starting at 11 am.