CHICOPEE, Mass. - The Norwich University women's volleyball team came within a handful of points of securing its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, taking the opening two sets before Elms College rallied for a heartbreaking 3-2 decision at Picknelly Arena.
Norwich claimed the first two frames, 25-18 and 25-23, and held several opportunities to close out the match during an extraordinary third set before the Blazers escaped with a 36-34 victory. Elms carried that momentum into a 25-16 fourth-set win before breaking away late in the deciding frame, 15-11. The match featured 37 ties and 21 lead changes across five sets.
Isabella Vasapolli (Pepperell, Mass.) led a balanced Norwich attack with 11 kills on 33 attempts for a .273 hitting percentage while adding two digs, one solo block, and two block assists. Grace Davie (Lynnfield, Mass.) followed with 10 kills, four service aces, seven digs, and a solo block. Taylor "Rae" Lawing (Allen, Texas) and Aylei Connolly (Westfield, Mass.) added six kills apiece, with Lawing hitting .222 and supplying two solo blocks.
Ainslee Vargas (Rusk, Texas) directed the offense with 29 assists while adding four kills and 17 digs. Kelsey Slane (West Sand Lake, N.Y.) paced the back row with 19 digs and also recorded five assists and four service aces, while Vanessa Whitmill (Fremont, Calif.) chipped in 15 digs. Charlotte Johnson added five kills, five digs, two aces, and two block assists.
The Cadets set the tone immediately with one of their sharpest offensive sets of the season.
After the teams traded points throughout the early going, Norwich broke an 11-11 deadlock behind Connolly's serving. A pair of service aces, an Elms attack error, and a Lawing kill helped push the Cadets in front, 16-11. Lawing later added another kill, while Davie and Vasapolli supplied finishes as Norwich continued to create separation.
Davie put Norwich ahead, 20-13, with her fourth kill of the frame, and Vasapolli followed shortly afterward to make it 22-15. Connolly eventually delivered the final point from the service line as the Cadets secured a 25-18 opening-set victory. Norwich committed only one attack error in the frame and hit .357 behind 11 kills.
The second set developed into a much tighter battle.
Norwich erased an early 5-2 deficit with a four-point run that included a Vargas ace and a Lawing block, then used consecutive Connolly service aces to move ahead, 10-7. Elms battled back, but the Cadets continued to answer and eventually pushed their advantage to 18-15 on a Vasapolli kill.
The Blazers briefly moved in front, 19-18, before Norwich responded again. Connolly tied the frame with a kill, and the Cadets later scored three straight to turn a 20-20 tie into a 23-20 advantage. Davie delivered a crucial kill for set point at 24-22 before an Elms attack error finished the 25-23 decision and sent Norwich into the third with a commanding two-set advantage.
What followed was the match's defining frame. Elms built a 16-13 lead midway through the third, but Norwich answered with five consecutive points. Vasapolli started the push with a kill before Johnson delivered back-to-back service aces and Davie followed with another finish, putting the Cadets ahead, 18-16.
The two sides were almost inseparable from there.
Norwich reached set point at 24-23 on a Lawing kill, only for Elms to respond. Davie then delivered consecutive kills to put the Cadets back in front, 26-25. The Blazers answered again, and neither side could create the two-point separation needed to finish the marathon frame.
The teams traded leads and ties deep into extra points. Vasapolli gave Norwich a 31-30 edge with a kill, Josephine Whitney later tied the set at 32-32, and the Cadets earned another set-point opportunity at 34-33 following an Elms setting error.
Elms survived once more, however, scoring the final three points to escape with a 36-34 victory and extend the match. The third set alone featured 14 ties and eight lead changes, with Norwich producing a match-best 17 kills while hitting .245.
The Blazers used the momentum to establish control early in the fourth, jumping ahead 9-1 and eventually stretching the margin to 21-5.
Norwich refused to allow the frame to end quietly. Davie sparked a four-point run with back-to-back service aces to cut the deficit to 22-10, and after Elms briefly interrupted the surge, Vasapolli and Connolly helped the Cadets string together six more unanswered points. Slane added two aces during that late charge as Norwich pulled within 23-16, but the Blazers collected the final two points to force a deciding fifth set.
The decisive frame remained every bit as competitive as the opening three.
After Elms moved ahead, 4-2, Vargas delivered a kill before Lawing followed with a finish and service ace to draw Norwich within 6-5. The teams continued trading points until a Vasapolli kill and a Davie ace brought the Cadets all the way back even at 9-9.
Elms regained a two-point cushion, but Norwich had one final response. Vasapolli put away another kill before Slane served an ace to tie the deciding set at 11-11.
The Blazers ultimately found the final push, scoring four consecutive points to secure the fifth set, 15-11, and complete the comeback.
Norwich finished the afternoon with 43 kills, 38 assists, 19 service aces, 77 digs, and six total blocks. The Cadets held a 19-17 advantage in aces and doubled Elms' block total, while the Blazers finished with edges of 52-43 in kills and 95-77 in digs. Norwich was especially effective in the opening and third sets, hitting .357 and .245, respectively.
The Cadets will remain on the road for another GNAC matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 13, traveling to New London, N.H., to face Colby-Sawyer College at 7:00 p.m. Norwich will then return to Andrews Hall on Friday, Oct. 16, welcoming Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) for a non-conference matchup as part of Homecoming Weekend.
