Statistics
Photos (courtesy of RWU)

BRISTOL, R.I. -- Kaydence Fish had four kills in the span of five points to flip the advantage late in the 5th set and Brianna Picchietti finished it off as No.3 Roger Williams University escaped with a 3-2 result (26-24, 25-21,23-25, 15-25, 15-13) against No.6 University of New England in the opening round of the 2024 Conference of New England (CNE) Women's Volleyball Championship at the Campus Rec Center on Tuesday evening (Nov. 12).

The margin was no more than two for the duration of the final frame. A three-point run by the Nor'easters -- kills by Viktoria Pavlyuk and Ellijah Hanley, and an ace from Pavlyuk -- made it 12-10 in favor of the visitors before Fish notched her first winner of the session. After a UNE kill by Chloe Miracle, Fish put away another, and then back-to-back serves from Kaylee Jackson were returned over the net and hit straight down by Fish for force a UNE timeout (RWU 14-13). The Hawks' first pass with the ball on their side found Picchietti on the left side for a kill off the block to clinch the match.

Roger Williams (17-11) advances to face second seed Wentworth Institute of Technology in the semifinals on Thursday.

Just three days after beating the Hawks, 3-1, in the regular season finale at home, the Nor'easters wrap up the year with a 19-7 overall record.

Picchietti topped RWU with 13 kills on the night, while Jackson went for 12 and Fish wound up at 11. Fish also had a hand in nine of the team's 13 blocks, including two solo. Defensively, Marianna Hernandez tallied 31 digs and Jackson saved 17 more. Ava Mattiucci put up 22 assists, 10 digs, and four aces.

Hanley led all players with 15 kills for UNE, added three aces, and recorded one of the squad's three double-doubles with a dozen digs. Pavlyuk tossed in 10 kills, four aces, and a career-best 20 digs. With eight kills, Kailyn Reilly was the most efficient attacker in the contest (.273), and Miracle came off of the bench around the midway mark to register eight, as well. Hayley Shult framed 43 assists to go with 12 digs, and Kelsey Bradshaw, who contributed three aces, racked up a team-high 29 digs along the back line.

During the first two games won by the Hawks, the Nor'easters held the edge at 24-23 in the 1st and at 20-19 in the 2nd.

UNE trailed 19-14 during the opening stanza before rattling off six unanswered to move in front -- Hanley, Pavlyuk, and Reilly each had one kill, while Hanley touched down a pair of aces and Pavlyuk and Reilly shared in a block. The Nor'easters still had the lead and a set-point with a kill by Hannah Nowell, but two kills by Jackson around one by Fish stole things back for the hosts. The Hawks hit .357 in the set, guided by Jackson five kills on seven swings. Pavlyuk attacked at a .444 clip over nine attempts for UNE.

A couple of aces by Pavlyuk got the visitors started quickly in the 2nd, and the margin was five (7-2, 9-4) until Roger Williams knotted the score at 11-all with a block by Jackson and Fish. While UNE relinquished the edge at 13-12, kills by Nowell and Bradshaw got it right back, and while scoring another six points, the Nor'easters were still ahead or even on the board. However, kills from Fish and Jackson were soon followed by two aces by Mattiucci to help RWU take a commanding lead in the overall match.

Consecutive kills by Picchietti gave the Hawks their largest cushion of the 3rd at 17-12, looking to close things out, and the gap was still four (21-17) before UNE rallied to stay alive. Two winners from Miracle and a block by Reilly had the spread reduced to one (22-21), and an RWU error followed by a Bradshaw ace shifted the Nor'easters on top (23-22). A kill by Jackson was negated by another rejection from Reilly and Hanley, and an ensuing attack error provided the visitors with the point to extend the duel.

The 4th was all UNE after the initial eight points. The Hawks managed to close within three (15-12, 16-13), but then a 9-2 surge, featuring three kills out of Miracle, two more from Hanley, and two aces by Bradshaw, capped the frame to force a deciding set. 

On the season, the Nor'easters logged the program's best-ever start to a campaign with nine straight victories. The 19 total wins were the most since 2010 (20), and the winning record in CNE action was the first since 2013.