GORHAM, Maine – A 20-kill effort from junior co-captain Meg Perry (Gorham, Maine) was not enough for the University of Southern Maine volleyball team to withstand a comeback attempt from New England College in a non-conference match on Saturday afternoon. The visiting Pilgrims came back after trailing two sets to none to win the match 3-2 in five sets.
 
When and Where: Saturday, October 8, 2022 – University of Southern Maine – Hill Gym
 
Score: Pilgrims 3, Huskies 2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-13)
 
The Records: New England College 8-13; Southern Maine: 4-13
 
History: NEC leads the all-time series 3-1.
 
How It Happened:

• The Huskies won a very competitive first set where the Pilgrims keep the score close towards the end but a key block by Sophia Biggie (Castine, Maine/St. George) and a service ace by senior Sophie Lindsay (Sierra Madre, Cail./Pasadena) helped the Huskies close out the set with a 25-22 win.
• Southern Maine won the second set by the same score as the first to go up 2-0.
• The third set saw the Pilgrims open the third set on a 4-0 run to build momentum. While the Huskies rallied back from the early deficit, NEC scored the final five points of the set to make the score two sets to one.
• The Pilgrims got off to another strong start in the fourth set with a 7-0 run after trailing 0-3. However, the Huskies eventually fought back to tie the set at 10-10 before the visitors strung together a few rallies to win the set 25-19 to tie the match at two sets apiece.
• In an intense tiebreaking set the Pilgrims managed to complete their comeback attempt and take the set 15-13 to win the match 3-2.

Inside The Boxscore

• Perry reached the 20-kill mark for the second time this season and also logged eight digs.
• Freshman Kali Kittler (Pittsfield, Mass/Jupiter) set a new career high in kills with 11.
• Lindsay had a strong all-around game with 38 assists, 21 digs, eight kills and four aces.
• Junior Sierra Castonguay (Nottingham, N.H./Dover) also logged four aces and led the team in digs with 28. She also added nine assists.
• Biggie registered a solo block and four assisted blocks to go along with her seven kills for 10 total points.
• Junior Kailey Foley (New Gloucester, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) also logged 10 points with eight kills and a pair of service aces.
• NEC's offense was led by Tatiana Sampson with 11 kills followed by nine from both Samantha Vargas and Savannah Pilialoha.
• Arianna Blaize Llamas led the Pilgrims in assists with 26 and service aces with seven while Amber Thi paced the squad in digs with 27.

 
Up Next: The Huskies will play a LEC match on Wednesday evening at Plymouth State University at 7PM.