NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University women's volleyball team battled through momentum swings and spirited rallies on Wednesday afternoon, but ultimately came up short in a 3-0 loss (23-25, 17-25, 17-25) to Mitchell College in the Cadets' Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener at Andrews Hall.

Despite the result, several Cadets turned in strong performances.  Bella Belldina Ray (Martinsburg, W.Va.) and Grace Davie (Lynnfield, Mass.) led the offense with four kills apiece, while Vanessa Whitmill (Fremont, Calif.) chipped in three.  Sarah DeBot (Rochester, N.Y.) and Autumn Parkhurst (Parish, N.Y.) recorded eight and seven assists, respectively, while defensively, Kelsey Slane (West Sand Lake, N.Y.) and Whitmill collected 14 and 11 digs to anchor the back line.

Norwich's best chance came in the opening set, which featured one of the Cadets' most resilient comebacks of the young season.  After surrendering a 5-0 Mitchell run to fall behind 16-8, Norwich rallied to cut the deficit to one on three separate occasions, including at 24-23 following a kill by Charlotte Johnson (Moultonborough, N.H.).  The Mariners, however, closed out the frame with a final kill to take the early lead.

The Cadets carried their energy into the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 start.  But Mitchell responded with a 19-4 surge to seize control.  Norwich clawed back once more, turning a 23-11 deficit into a 24-17 margin with a late push, but could not extend the frame.

The third set remained tight through the midpoint, as the teams sat tied at 15.  From there, a string of Norwich attack errors allowed Mitchell to pull away, closing the match on a decisive 10-2 run to seal the sweep.

The Cadets return to action this Saturday, Sept. 6, when they host a non-conference tri-match at Andrews Hall.  Norwich opens the day against Vermont State University Castleton at 11:00 a.m., before facing Trinity College (Conn.) in the 3:00 p.m. finale.  Castleton and Trinity will square off in the middle match at 1:00 p.m.