BANGOR, Maine — The Husson University women's volleyball team battled New England College through four sets Tuesday evening inside Newman Athletic Gymnasium, but the Pilgrims came away with a 3-1 non-conference victory.
New England College (7-5) earned the win by set scores of 25-14, 26-24, 23-25 and 25-15, dropping the Eagles to 1-10 on the season.
Husson opened the match with four-straight points, getting kills from freshman Emery Ballard and senior Janna Preskorn before a service ace from freshman Kiara Griffin gave the Eagles an early 4-0 advantage. The two teams remained close through the opening stages before NEC broke a 10-10 tie with nine-consecutive points on its way to a 25-14 opening-set victory.
The Eagles responded with a strong effort in the second set. Husson built a 17-12 advantage following a six-point run on Griffin's serve, which included a Preskorn kill and Griffin service ace. The Eagles later held a 21-14 lead before the Pilgrims worked their way back into the set.
NEC pulled even at 23-23, but a service error gave Husson a set point at 24-23. The Pilgrims answered with three-straight points, however, getting three-consecutive kills to escape with a 26-24 victory and take a 2-0 match lead.
Husson refused to go quietly in the third set, using its best offensive performance of the night to extend the match. The Eagles hit .268 in the frame with 18 kills on 41 attempts.
Husson grabbed a 7-4 advantage behind kills from junior Autumn Peterson and sophomore Peyton Hooker and eventually stretched its lead to 17-11. NEC answered with six-consecutive points to even the set at 17-17, setting up a back-and-forth finish.
With the score tied at 23-23, Preskorn delivered a service ace to put the Eagles at set point before an NEC attack error completed the 25-23 victory. Husson finished the third set with 18 kills, including several key swings from Preskorn, Hooker and Peterson.
The Pilgrims regained control in the fourth set. Husson held an early 5-3 advantage after a Griffin ace and Preskorn kill, but NEC responded and eventually used an 8-1 run to turn an 8-7 advantage into a 16-8 lead.
Husson made one final push late in the frame, fighting off four match points behind three-straight Preskorn kills to cut the deficit to 24-15. NEC closed out the match on the following point for the 25-15 set victory.
Preskorn paced the Husson offense with a match-high 21 kills while hitting .263 on 57 attempts. She also added nine digs and one service ace. Hooker finished with 14 kills and 15 digs for a double-double, while Peterson contributed nine kills and eight digs.
Freshman Eden Fraser directed the Eagles' offense with 37 assists and added seven digs, while Griffin led Husson defensively with a match-high 20 digs to go along with three service aces.
As a team, Husson totaled 46 kills, 44 assists, four service aces and 61 digs while hitting .132 for the match. New England College finished with 48 kills, 12 service aces and 74 digs while posting a .246 hitting percentage.
The Eagles open North Atlantic Conference play on Saturday for homecoming as they welcome Maine Maritime Academy to Bangor for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.
