Volleyball nets a pair of season opening victories at Castleton

Castleton, VT- The MCLA Women's Volleyball team opened 2013 with a pair of road wins as they defeated Green Mountain and Castleton State, both in four sets.  Allie Chang led the Trailblazers with 25 kills on the afternoon.

In the nightcap, Castleton jumped out to a 13-10 lead in the first set, but the Trailblazers used an 8-0 run to take control and finish with 25-20 victory. MCLA kept the momentum in the second set and led throughout, earning the 25-17 win. 

In the third set the Spartans fell behind 20-15, however, they went on a 5-1 run to pull within one, 21-20. They tied it up three points later and finished with the 25-23 win. Castleton failed to complete the comeback and dropped the final set 25-21. 

Allie Chang was dominant for the Trailblazers, hitting .344 with a match-high 14 kills, 12 digs and eight service aces. Kendra Hobbs recorded a team-high 15 digs with three service aces as the team totaled 21 aces. 

Brayman led the Castleton attack with seven kills while Kaylee Pratt added three in just five attempts. Smyth dished off ten assists and had six service aces while Lawless finished with 19 digs and three aces. 

The Spartans move to 1-1 on the season and return to action on Sept. 8 when they face Southern Maine at 3 pm.

In the opening win over Green Mountain, Chang's all-around performance coupled with the defensive effort from Kendra Hobbs and the superb play at the net from Sam Anderson pushed MCLA past Green Mountain College 3-1 in both teams season opener Saturday afternoon at the Spartan Athletic Complex.

Despite the four set match, each and every game was a very tightly played affair.  Each of the Trailblazers victories turned out to be 25-23, with the biggest discrepancy in score coming in the team's only loss at 25-20. 

Chang, a junior outside hitter, led the attack with 11 kills and dug up 13 attacks to propel the Trailblazers to victory.  Hobbs, the senior right side hitter, dug up a team-high 15 attacks and contributed two service aces, while Anderson dominated the middle with eight kills and two solo blocks.

Leading the way for the Eagles was senior outside hitter Kara Egan who tallied eight kills and brought up 12 attacks.  Junior middle hitter Madison Wage contributed seven kills along with her solo block and block assist.  A real boost for GMC was the play of freshman libero Celeste Bowers who recorded a game-high 25 digs in the loss.