GORHAM, Maine – The University of New England Nor'easters volleyball team took control with aggressive front line play and totaled 32 team kills to push past the University of Southern Maine Huskies 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-19) in a non-conference match at Hill Gym Wednesday night.

            With the win, the Nor'easters improve their record to 16-8, and Southern Maine drops to 9-20 with the loss.

            UNE sophomore outside hitter Leah Janelle (Madbury, N.H./Oyster River) and senior middle blocker Paige Curran (Chelmsford, Mass.) paced the Nor'easters strong offense with eight kills apiece. Senior outside hitter Jillian Goldstein (Lynnfield, Mass.) and junior middle blocker Angie Brunette (North Andover, Mass.) each turned in four kills, junior setter Maria Kuehl (Middleton, N.H./Farmington) tallied five aces, three digs, and a game-high 25 assists, and Curran and freshman defensive specialist Jalene Kanayurak (Barrow, Alaska) contributed with three aces apiece.

            Janelle also had two aces and three digs, and senior outside hitter Jackie Stone (Saginaw, MI/Valley Lutheran) had two aces of her own. The Nor'easters finished with 12 kills in the first and third sets.

            Junior outside hitter Annie Mitchell (Gorham, Maine) led the Huskies with four kills. Junior outside hitter Madalyn Terry turned in three kills, and freshman middle blocker Kelsey Abramson (Deerfield, Mass./Frontier Regional) had two kills.

            Sophomore setter Nicole Hansen (Biddeford, Maine) had nine assists and six digs, freshman libero Demi Ruder (Clifton, Colo./Central) had six digs and two assists, and freshman defensive specialist Bridget Burns (Warrenville, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) finished with six digs and a team-high two aces.  

            Southern Maine concludes its season on Saturday when they travel to Gordon College for a tri-match against Gordon (11:00 a.m.) and Roger Williams (1:00 p.m.).

–jan–