Women's Volleyball Opens Up 2007 Season With 3-0 Victory Over Univ. of New England
Box ScoreSPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- August 31, 2007 -- Paced behind junior Aylene Ilkson's double-double of 10 kills and 14 digs, the Springfield College women's volleyball team opened up the 2007 campaign with a convincing 3 game to 0 victory over the University of New England in the Springfield Invitational. The Pride took the match by the scores of 30-22, 30-18, 30-26.
The win in the squad's season opener puts the Pride at 1-0 while the Nor'easters fall to 0-1.
With the score tied at 16-16 after a Nor'easter attack error in the first game, the Pride closed out the game on a 14-6 run to claim victory. Senior Lindsay Marone and junior Heidi Yohe combined for seven kills in the run for the Pride who took the stanza by a score of 30-22.
Four straight aces from junior Jessica Baldwin sparked the Pride's 7-0 run to open up the second game. The Pride, who led by as many as 13 points in the game, held New England to a paltry -.120 hitting percentage, and took the game by a score of 30-18.
In the final game of the match, a sea-saw battle found no team leading by more than three points until an Ilkson kill put the Pride up 17-14. New England battled back, eventually knotting the game at 26 after a Pride miscue. From there, Springfield closed out the match tallying the final four points, two of them coming off Ilkson kills to capture the season opener.
Ilkson led the way with 10 kills and 14 digs while Yohe chipped in with a game-high 12 kills and six digs. Baldwin finished with 17 digs and an impressive seven aces while Bethany Stosz opened her career at Springfield with eight kills and two blocks. Alyssa Muething directed the offense with 23 assists while freshman Kelsea Hellyar came off the bench in her collegiate debut to add 14 helpers. The Pride finished hitting .232 on the evening compared to the Nor'easters -.032.
Claire Varner and Toregas each registered seven kills on the evening for New England while Angie Gust added nine digs.
In the first contest of the evening, Colby Sawyer topped Rhode Island College in three games, 30-28, 30-27, 30-23.
Springfield returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they play a pair of games. The Pride will square off against Rhode Island College at 11:00 a.m. before wrapping up the Invitational with a 3:00 p.m. contest against Colby Sawyer.
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Head Coach Joel Dearing
Joel Dearing will enter his 21st season as head women's volleyball coach at his alma mater in the fall of 2009. Dearing is regarded nationally as one of the sport’s best coaches and he has the resume to prove it. Dearing ranks in the top-10 in Division III history with a 670-298 (.692) overall mark in 28 seasons as a women’s volleyball coach.
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