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| Kim Donaldson (Dean Denis Photography) |
The Mules (3-3 overall) will play host to Trinity College on Friday at 8 p.m. in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) opener. The Nor’easters (2-3) are off until an away match at Wentworth next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Colby won by set scores of 21-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-21.
Donaldson had just three attack errors and also finished with five total blocks. Natalie Roy had 27 defensive digs and five kills, while Paige Hanssen added nine kills, six digs, and five assists. Sarah Arvidson finished with seven kills and 12 digs and Elizabeth Noyes also had seven kills.
Colby had nice balance from its two main setters. Emily Moslener had 15 assists, six digs, and two service aces. First-year Molly Manuel had 16 assists.
Erika Sawicki led the Nor’easters with 13 kills and teammate Emily Rumery finished with 11 kills. Brittany Morrison had a fine match with 32 digs and five aces, while Kristen Falcinelli had 29 assists and 15 digs. Grayson Szczepaniak led in blocks with four and had six kills.
UNE and Colby had nine ties in the first set, but the Nor’easters came up with key points late in pulling away for the 25-21 set win.
UNE took a 6-3 lead early in the second set only to see the Mules settle down as play continued. Donaldson had two straight kills and a block to turn a 15-13 lead into an 18-13 margin.
The third set was back-and-forth again with 13 ties in Colby’s 25-23 win. The Nor’easters held an 18-16 lead at one point. However, the Mules broke a 23-23 tie with two straight points to close out the set.
The Mules hit their best in the fourth set to close the match out. Colby had 15 kills and a hitting percentage of nearly 26.