Volleyball Falls at University of New England, 3-0

BIDDEFORD, Maine- The Eastern Nazarene volleyball team suffered a 3-0 setback on the road at the University of New England Wednesday evening.

The Lions dip to 13-14 overall and 1-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the loss. The Nor'easters improved to 13-7 on the season and 4-1 in league play with the win.

Cayla Clinkscale (Winchendon, Mass.) paced Eastern Nazarene with 15 kills and eight digs. Kortney Jenkins (Bunker Hill, W.V.) finished with eight kills and seven digs while Hannah Welsh (Derry, N.H.) added four kills and six digs on the night.

Rookie Lauryl Berger (Laurel, Del.) notched 25 assists and four digs in the match. Vanessa Pascal (Marlborough, Mass.) registered seven digs and Sam Losano (Elverta, Calif.) chipped in with five digs.

The University of New England coasted to a 25-12 win in the opening set. The Nor'easters claimed back-to-back 25-21 victories in the second and third games to secure their fourth conference win of the fall.

The hosts raced out to a 14-5 lead in the first set after a 9-2 run. The University of New England closed out the opening frame on a 10-4 run to prevail 25-12.

After the Nor'easters claimed an early advantage in the second, the Lions battled back to tie the game at 10-10.

Eastern Nazarene grabbed a one-point edge on a kill by Jenkins, 11-10, its first lead of the match.

The University of New England reclaimed a 15-12 lead after tallying four straight points.

The Lions pulled to within a point of the home team, 19-18, as Clinkscale knocked down a kill. The Nor'easters responded 5-2 run to clinch the set 25-21 and double their lead to 2-0.

The opening stages of the third game were closely contested as the largest margin between the teams was four points.

Eastern Nazarene cut the deficit to one, 17-16, on a kill by Clinkscale.

Trailing by three late in the set, 19-16, the visitors rattled off four unanswered points to capture a 20-19 edge. The Lions knotted the score at 19-19 on a service ace by Vannessa Ebai (Hartford, Conn.) and went up by a point on a kill by Jenkins.

The Nor'easters answered with four consecutive points to restore their lead to three, 23-20.

After Eastern Nazarene got a point back to narrow the margin to 23-21, the University of New England posted the final two points to cap off the victory.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will visit Endicott October 29 in the second of three consecutive road matches for the Lions.