Volleyball Swept by Salve Regina in Conference Opener

QUINCY, Mass.- In its first league match of the season, the Eastern Nazarene volleyball team suffered a 3-0 setback to Salve Regina Wednesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The loss drops the Lions to 7-8 overall and 0-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Seahawks improve to 14-1 on the season and 1-0 in league play with the win.

Eastern Nazarene was led by Cayla Clinkscale (Winchendon, Mass.) with seven kills and seven digs on the evening. Hannah Welsh (Derry, N.H.) finished with five kills and six digs while Kortney Jenkins (Bunker Hill, W.V.) posted a team-high 12 digs and added four kills. Rookie Lauryl Berger (Laurel, Del.) recorded 22 assists and six digs in the match and Vanessa Pascal (Marlborough, Mass.) registered seven digs.

The visitors claimed the first set 25-12 to grab a 1-0 lead. Salve Regina doubled its lead to 2-0 with a 25-17 decision in the second frame. The Seahawks closed out the match with a 25-21 victory in the third set.

Salve Regina opened up a 7-1 lead to kick off the opening game. Eastern Nazarene fought back to cut the deficit to 15-9 following a back-to-back points for the home side.

The Seahawks secured the victory in the first set with a 6-1 run to capture the game 25-12.

In the second set, the Lions knotted the score at 4-4 on a kill by Welsh but the visitors responded with six unanswered points to lead 10-4.

Trailing 24-13 and facing set point, Eastern Nazarene rallied for four-straight points to narrow the gap to 24-17. Salve Regina tallied the clinching point on a kill by Clare Adams.

The third frame was closely contested as the two teams traded points. The Lions fell behind 10-6 but battled back to bring the score to 10-8.

The Seahawks posted three-consecutive points to push their lead to five, 13-8.

Eastern Nazarene rallied late in the set to pull to within a point, 22-21. The Lions rattled off four points before a service error gave Salve Regina a 22-17 edge. The home team answered with four points in a row to cut the lead to one.

The Seahawks went onto to record the final three points of the game to seal the win.

Salve Regina was led by Tara Kuck with nine kills and eight digs in the match while Dianna Tauro posted 10 digs.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene hits the road for a tri-match September 28. The Lions will take on Keene State before squaring off against the host team, Eastern Connecticut State.