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Recap | Box Score
Newbury Rallies from 0-2 Hole Against Elms to Advance
The fourth seeded Newbury College Nighthawks moved on to the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) semifinals with a come-from-behind, 3-2, win against the fifth seeded Elms College Blazers in the quarterfinals, Tuesday evening. Newbury freshman Jessy Touron (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) paved the way to the comeback victory, registering a match-high 26 kills.
Elms came out blazing as they jumped out to the 2-0 advantage behind junior outside hitter Stacy Croteau (Agawam, Mass./Agawam). Recording a game-high 10 kills in the first two games, Croteau led the Blazers to identical 25-21 wins which included a spectacular Elms comeback in game two following a 10-2 run after falling down 16-9 early in the set.
With momentum on the side of the Blazers, Elms was one win away from making their third consecutive NECC semifinals appearance; but Newbury was not going to be denied and began to climb out of the 0-2 hole.
The third game was the turning point of the evening. Touron helped the Nighthawks rebound from their first two set losses recording a set-high five kills as Newbury held off a late Elms rally. Junior outside hitter Tricia Corriveau (Coventry, R.I./Coventry) broke up a mini 3-0 run with a kill late in the game as the Nighthawks took game three, 25-19.
Elms hung tough and stayed consistent as game four was a back-and-fourth battle. After picking up two kills in the third set, Croteau registered three kills in set four for a total of 15, but Newbury pulled away late behind Touron’s eight kills to knot up the match at two games with the 25-17 win.
Momentum shifted from Elms to Newbury following the game four win as the Nighthawks held the Blazers at bay, winning the match-deciding fifth game, 15-5. Corriveau followed up Touron’s career-high with 10 kills while Croteau recorded a team-high 16 kills for the Blazers.
With the win, Newbury advances to face regular season champion, #1 seed, Daniel Webster College(17-6, 6-0 NECC) in the semifinals on Friday November 5th at 6:00pm. The last time the Eagles and Nighthawks met was Saturday October 16th when Daniel Webster defeated Newbury, 3-0, in the first game of a tri-match.
- Game photo by: Samantha Yanofsky
