Women's Volleyball Returns to NECC Championship With 3-0 Win Over Daniel Webster
“Transforming a Program, Building for the Future,
and Molding Champions!”
Former Husky Jessica Delgado (8), a transfer junior from East Los Angeles College along with the Deon Jones, the Huskies former assistant coach leads the Mountaineers to the Division Championship versus Regis University after a 3 set win versus Daniel Webster.
BENNINGTON, VT. – The Southern Vermont College women's volleyball team finds itself back in the New England Collegiate (NECC) Championship after knocking off Daniel Webster College 3-0 in the semifinal round Friday evening at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
The top-seeded Mountaineers defeated the No. 4 Eagles with set scores of 25-12, 25-16, and 25-12.
Southern Vermont (11-8) is now set to face Regis College in the Championship at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the MAC; the Pride defeated Newbury College 3-2 in the night's second semifinal. Daniel Webster finishes the season with an 11-13 mark.
The Mountaineers were led on the attack by junior Jessica Delgado (Los Angeles, Calif.) who recorded 11 kills to go along with eight digs and a helpful six service aces. DWC saw senior Ally Hayden (Bedford, N.H.) notch 11 assists and nine digs in her final game as an Eagle.
SVC controlled the pace of the contest throughout, taking the early match lead with a first set that saw Delgado rip across four of her aces. Senior Carrie Baltazar (Whittier, Calif.) had five of her match's nine kills in the opening frame, helping the Mountaineers to a .344 hitting percentage. Southern Vermont carried its momentum to the 25-12 set victory.
Daniel Webster was able to hit better in its second set, but that was still not enough as the Mountaineers used their balanced attack and shared the swings while also seeing the whole group pitch in defensively. The hosts popped up 26 digs in the second game to prevent the Eagle offense from clicking en route to the 25-16 win.
DWC continued to fight with its season on the line in the third set, including Hayden who put up seven of her digs in the final frame. Delgado slammed five kills, however, to help the Mountaineers put up a .229 hitting percentage while taking the set 25-12 and putting themselves back in the title match. This marks the third consecutive year in which Daniel Webster has been eliminated by SVC in the conference semis.
Baltazar added 13 digs and three service aces to her night while senior libero Vanessa Ruelas (Paramount, Calif.) led all players with 21 digs. Sophomore setter Sheilani Kaleopa (Riverside, Calif.) assisted on 27 of the team's 33 kills in the contest. Junior Marissa Flores (Azusa, Calif.) also contributed on all ends, putting down seven kills, two service aces and five digs.
Eagle freshman Samantha Betts (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) led the team with six kills while adding eight digs, and freshman Madeline Roulier (Pittsfield, Mass.) recorded a team-high 13 digs to go along with two kills and an ace. Junior libero Maggie Belli (Miami, Fla.) had 11 digs on the night.