Nettles' 44 Kills Lifts Women's Volleyball To Two Victories

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Wells College women's volleyball team picked up two victories in the City of Good Neighbors on Saturday, sweeping the host Spartans from D'Youville College in straight-sets before battling Westminster (Pa.) College to a five-set victory. Wells has won 10 of its last 11 matches exiting play this weekend, moving to 12-7 overall on the year.

Wells dispatched D'Youville in three sets via scores of 25-14, 25-22 and 25-22. The Express took the five-set thriller from Westminster (14-25, 25-16, 25-21, 26-28, 16-14), overcoming a 7-1 deficit in the fifth set to capture the win. Senior Vashti Nettles (Long Beach, Calif.) was the standout performer for Wells on the afternoon, posting 17 kills against D'Youville before setting the single match program record with 27 kills against Westminster.

Wells had to mount a comeback for the ages to secure their second victory of the afternoon, trailing 7-1 to Westminster after coming out on the wrong end of a 28-26 fourth set against the Titans. A Nettles kill sparked three-straight points for Wells as sophomore Eliza Schwab (Hartland, N.Y.) posted a service ace in between two Titans attacking errors, shrinking the Westminster lead to 7-5.

The Express recorded their next five points with kills, using a Nettles kill to cut into the Titans lead, 12-11. A ball handling error by Westminster tied the match at 12 and two-straight Titans attacking errors put Wells at match point. Two kills by Westminster, however, delayed the Wells victory only briefly as Nettles posted two kills with the match tied at 14 to elevate the Express to one of the most thrilling victories in team history.

Wells lost the first set by a 25-14 margin, but rebounded with strong performances in sets two and three to momentarily stun the Titans. The Express posted an impressive 27 kills in just the second and third sets before posting 19 kills in a fourth set loss. Wells assumed the victory, however, with 10 kills on 21 errorless attacks in the fifth set to defeat the Titans.

Against Westminster, Nettles accumulated 27 kills to shatter her own team record of 24, set earlier this season against Hartwick on Sept. 5. Schwab assisted a career-high 48 kills as her team went on to post 60 collectively, setting a single-match team record. Junior Nadine Pershyn (Buffalo, N.Y.) recorded 21 digs, setting a single-match career high. Sophomore Olyvia Brazier (Stony Brook, N.Y.) boasted 15 digs and 13 kills for Wells.

Earlier in the day against D'Youville, Nettles pounded home 17 kills, the most-ever by an Express player in a three-set match after leading the team while committing only four attacking errors. Schwab set up 34 of her team's 44 kills while Brazier picked up 15 digs on defense, narrowly missing a double-double after recording nine kills.

The Express led by as many as 11 points in the first set against D'Youville, cruising to a 25-14 victory before the Spartans made things interesting in the second set. D'Youville captured a 15-12 lead after back-to-back kills by Kendyll Smith forced a Wells timeout. However, the Express righted the ship after senior Zakarra Butts (Cortland, N.Y.) served Wells to five-straight points to help propel her team to a come-from-behind 25-22 set victory.

In the third and final set, D'Youville led by a 15-14 margin before another Wells timeout helped the offense regain focus. A kill from Brazier boosted the Express following the timeout as the visitors regained the lead after an attacking error by D'Youville. Kills from Pershyn and freshman Amanda Springer (Norwood, Mass.) clinched the match for the Express, winning the set 25-22.

Wells returns to action Saturday, Oct. 17 as they face-off against Morrisville State and SUNY Poly, two North Eastern Athletic Conference programs at 12 and 2 p.m., respectively, on the campus of Keuka College.