Nighthawks Take Two From Badgers

Nighthawks Take Two From Badgers

The Newbury College women's volleyball team took two matches from non-conference Johnson State College by identical 3-0 scores, Saturday afternoon. Junior middle hitter Courtney Banks(Corona, Calif.) extended the Nighthawk winnings streak posting a .587 attack percentage with 30 kills on 46 attempts and just three errors over six sets.

Match 1: Newbury 3, Johnson State 0  

Hitting a staggering .632 in the first set of game, the Nighthawks jumped on the board early take the 1-0 match advantage taking the first set, 25-5. Junior outside hitter Kataya Sykes (Brockton, Mass.) was nearly perfect from the floor tallying three kills on four attempts while Banks let the way with six kills on nine attempts to hit .556 in the match.

In the second set, Johnson State held a substantial, eight-point, 20-12 lead but Banks re-entered into the Nighthawk line-up and ignited a 10-1 run to take the one-point lead. Banks was nearly perfect from the floor in the first set, notching 12 kills on 14 attempts to hit .857 en route to the 25-23 comeback victory and take the 2-0 lead.

The Nighthawks clinched the final game of the match, taking the third set, 25-10. As a team the Nighthawks hit an outstanding .341 in the first match of the day, registering 41 kills on 85 attempts and just 12 errors as a team. 

Match 2: Newbury 3, Johnson State 0

The second match of the day was similar to the first one with the Nighthawks claiming the 3-0 victory. Sykes and Banks were flawless from the field combining to hit .485 notching 16 kills on 33 attempts with zero errors.  Sophomore setter Marlen Reynoso (Springdale, Ark.) posted 23 assists in the victory while senior defensive specialist Jenna Rodrigues (Attleboro, Mass.) led the team with seven digs on the afternoon.

Junior Breanna Laughlin (San Jacinto, Calif.) led the Badgers tallying eight kills and seven digs while classmate, outside hitter Heather White (East Fairfield, Vt.) registered four digs in the match.

Newbury climbs over .500 on the season improving to 7-6 while Johnson State falls to 4-7. The Nighthawks will be action on Tuesday September 29th when they face WPI at 7 p.m. The Badgers return to the court next Saturday October 3rd for a tri-match against Colby-Sawyer College and Lyndon State College at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.