(ST. NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) CASTINE, Maine – St. Norbert College split a pair of matches in its first day of competition along the Atlantic Seaboard at Maine Maritime Academy.
St. Norbert opened with a 3-0 win over SUNY Delhi by scores of 25-9, 25-9, 25-19 before falling to Maine Maritime in a 3-2 heartbreaker 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 11-25, 17-15.
Against Delhi, St. Norbert fell behind 2-0 in Set 1 before going on a 6-0 run to get some breathing room. A 10-0 run for the Green Knights saw a 12-7 lead rupture into a 22-7 edge en route to a 1-0 lead. The Green Knights jumped out to a 5-0 run to open Set 2. St. Norbert eventually went out to leads of 14-3 and 20-5 for a breezy 2-0 lead. St. Norbert had to battle to pull away in the third set, with the Broncos getting to within 11-10. The Green Knights pulled away with a 6-0 run. Delhi cut it to 17-13 but would get no closer.
St. Norbert hit a lusty .453, getting 32 kills against three errors in 64 attempts. A total of 18 players saw action for the Green Knights, with Casey Vaughan getting eight kills in 11 attempts. Sophia Prins and Mickenzi Benter had five kills, while Emma Dries added four. Heidi Colburn had nine assists, while Benter, Keria Ashenfelter and Flynn Puttin had five apiece. St. Norbert had 17 service aces, with Colburn posting five, Alli Clark four and Claire Leynse three.
Puttin had a team-high five digs against a Delhi attack that hit minus-.074 (16-21-68). Dries had a team-high three blocks, while Prins, Clark, Kayden Lamon and Clare Williams had two apiece.
The match against Maine Maritime featured 31 tie scores and 14 lead changes. The first set was tied 21-21 before the Mariners closed it out on a 4-1 run to take a 1-0 lead. The Green Knights held an 18-17 lead in Set 2 and got a quick 3-0 run to take a 21-17 lead and ended up knotting the match at 1-1. The third set was tied 18-18 before a 3-1 run by Maine Maritime gave them a 21-19 lead and eventually a 2-1 match lead. The Green Knights dominated the fourth set in turning a 7-4 lead into a 22-7 bulge, including four consecutive service aces by Colburn, and tied the match at 2-2.
St. Norbert appeared in good shape in the tiebreaking fifth set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead. The Green Knights led 8-4 before the host went on a 6-1 run to take a 10-9 lead. St. Norbert led 12-11 and 13-12 and eventually trailed 14-13. It battled back to ties of 14-14 and 15-15 but the Mariners took the last two points to eke out the win.
The Green Knights hit .247 for the match, with 58 kills against 20 errors in 154 swings. Vaughan had 17 kills, while Mickenzi Benter added 16. Colburn posted 41 assists and seven service aces. St. Norbert had 14 service errors.
Colburn had 16 digs and Kara Sowinski added 15 digs. Alli Clark had four blocks, while Benter, Colburn and Kirsten Klatt had three apiece.
Maine Maritime hit .178 (59-29-169), getting 25 kills from standout Sydney Williams.
St. Norbert will wrap up its trip to Lobster Land Sunday with matches against SUNY-Cobleskill and a rematch against Maine Martime.
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