Concord, NH – The Central Maine Community College women's volleyball team knocked off YSCC rival NHTI 3-0 to open their 2024 season on Thursday night in New Hampshire. The straight sets victory marked the fourth consecutive season that the Mustangs have won their first game of the campaign.
The victory means that CMCC's all freshman squad picked up a win in their debut collegiate match. It also meant that first year co-head coaches Rachael Collins and Kevin Bean earned a win in their first game in charge of the Mustangs.
"It feels really good," coach Collins said. "I couldn't be more proud of these girls and the work they've done in the short preseason. I'm quite impressed."
The first set saw the Mustangs and Lynx trade points back and forth in the early going. That changed at the 6-5 mark when CMCC went on a small run to take a 12-6 lead. NHTI cut the deficit down to five at 21-16, but could get no closer. A combination of Natalie Roy and Keliah Stith serving got the Mustangs to the finish line with Isabella Higgins getting the final kill for a 25-17 first set win.
Set number two saw NHTI jump out to a 5-0 lead, but CMCC would rally back to tie it at 15-15. From that point on, Central Maine went on another run, this time with Autumn Peterson at the service line. The Cherryfield, ME native helped push the score to 21-15 and forced the Lynx to spend their second timeout of the set. After a side out, Higgins served out the remainder of the set with Roy getting the last kill for a 25-16 score line.
It was more of the same in the third set. The Mustangs won six straight points to turn a slim 6-4 advantage into a comfortable 12-6 lead. CMCC would lead by as many as nine while cruising to the 25-17 win to take the match in straight sets.
It wasn't only a good day offensively for Central Maine, as Stith impressed in her debut as the team's libero, handling receives well and delivering comfortable initial passes to set up the attack.
"Keliah did a great job tracking things down and keeping a lot of balls in play," said Collins. "We have a lot of front row, attacking players on the roster. She came in day one and showed what she could do defensively which led to us making the decision to use her as libero."
The Mustangs get back on the floor next Wednesday when they'll head on the road to play the NCAA Division III Husson University Eagles at 6:00 pm, before returning to YSCC conference play for the rest of the month. CMCC fans can catch the squad in Auburn on Tuesday, September 24th when they face NHTI in their home opener.
