Women’s Volleyball Clinches Second-Straight NECC Crown, Defeats New England College 3-1
November 7, 2021

Women’s Volleyball Clinches Second-Straight NECC Crown, Defeats New England College 3-1

HENNIKER, N.H.- The No. 2 seed Eastern Nazarene College women's volleyball team captured its second-consecutive New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) title with a 3-1 victory at top-seeded New England College Sunday afternoon in the NECC Tournament finals.

The Lions improve to 16-10 on the year with the win and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. The Pilgrims finish the season with a 19-6 overall record.

Senior Ruth Aguilar (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) was named the NECC Tournament MVP while rookies Eliana Baran (Beaumont, Calif.) and Emma Graves (Berkshire, N.Y.) were both tabbed to the All-Tournament team.

Baran notched a match-best 18 kills and Graves racked up 15 kills on the day. Aguilar posted a double-double with 43 assists and 15 digs to go with three blocks. Telma Zelaya (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) tallied 11 kills while Amya Altman (Butler, Pa.) collected a team-high 21 digs. Samantha Thornton (Bartlett, Tenn.) registered 15 digs and Jessica Caldwell (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with 12 digs.

The guests prevailed 25-21 in the first frame to capture a 1-0 edge, closing out the set with a 7-1 run.

Eastern Nazarene eked out a 25-23 victory in the second set to double its advantage to 2-0.

New England College claimed the third 25-18 to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The Lions triumphed 25-21 in the fourth frame to lock up their second NECC crown.

Tatiana Simpson paced the Pilgrims with 12 kills in the match. Shirita Wimberly recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs while Amber Thi also notched a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs.

Eastern Nazarene will learn its NCAA Tournament opening round opponent and location when the NCAA Tournament selection show airs November 8 at 12:30pm.

 

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Team Stats