GORHAM, Maine -- Paced by senior outside hitter Jess Williamson's (Goffstown, N.H.) 14 kills, the University of Southern Maine women's volleyball team racked up 40 kills and served 11 aces en route to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15) victory over visiting New England College Thursday evening in a non-conference match at the Warren Hill Gymnasium.

            The win was the fifth straight for the Huskies, and improved their overall record to 10-4.  The youthful Pilgrims (17 freshmen on an 18-player roster) dropped to 6-11 overall.  The match was the first meeting between the two schools.

            The Huskies used a strong serving game throughout the match to keep the Pilgrims on their heals and unable to generate consistent offensive attacks.

            Williamson, senior Mo Raymond (Sanbornton, N.H./Winnisquam) and sophomore Kylee Austin (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) combined for 30 kills as Raymond and Austin had eight kills apiece to complement Williamson.  Austin finished with a .429 attack percentage (8-2-14) while Raymond swung for a .318 percentage (8-1-22).

            Sophomore middle hitter Faolain Harrington (Auburn, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) added five kills to the Huskies' attack, and served a match-high five aces.  Junior setter Nicole Schmitz (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham) passed out 33 assists and had three aces.  Senior Mariah Garcia (Brighton, Colo./Central) shared match-high honors with 10 digs.

            Rookie middle hitters Dreka Griffin (Calera, Ala.) and Kaitlyn Walker (Cottonwood, Calif.) combined for 13 kills for the Pilgrims.  Griffin led the way with seven kills, and Walker added six.  Rookie Kennedy Somavia (Red Bluff, Calif.) had 15 assists and five digs.  Freshman Kayleigh MacDougall (Farmington, N.H.) shared match-high honors with USM's Garcia with 10 digs, and junior libero Meaghan Six (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) had nine digs.

            Southern Maine returns to the court on Saturday (10:00 a.m.) to play a doubleheader against the University of Maine at Presque Isle.  NEC returns home for a pair of North Atlantic Conference matches on Saturday facing Green Mountain College (10:00 a.m.) and Castleton University (4:00 p.m.).

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