Bay Path Drops Regular-Season Finale to Southern Vermont, 3-0; Wildcats Honor Seniors Cears, Heinbokel and Nazario

Bay Path Drops Regular-Season Finale to Southern Vermont, 3-0; Wildcats Honor Seniors Cears, Heinbokel and Nazario

Box Score - http://athletics.baypath.edu/sports/wvball/2018-19/boxscores/20181024_0mam.xml

EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. – The Bay Path University volleyball team closed out the 2018 regular season with a 3-0 setback to Southern Vermont College in New England Collegiate Conference action Wednesday evening.

Bay Path (7-13 overall, 3-6 NECC) was led by freshman Lydia Clifford (Coventry, R.I.) who recorded a 12-kill, 12-dig double-double, while posting a solid .273 attack percentage,  Clifford, who led all players on both teams in kills, committed just three attack errors in 33 total attempts.

Wildcat senior Joanne Nazario (Springfield, Mass.) led all players with 12 digs, while freshman teammates Shanikqua Thompson (Hamden, Conn.) and Jessica Warren (Becket, Mass.) helped pace the offense with six kills and five kills, respectively. Senior Lexi Cears (Agawam, Mass.) dished out 21 assists.  Senior Taylor Heinbokel (Agawam, Mass.) tied for the match-high with two total blocks, while chipping in one kill and one assist.

Prior to the match, the Wildcat trio of Cears, Heinbokel and Nazario were recognized for their contributions to the Bay Path program as part of a very festive Senior Night celebration that featured flowers, balloons and unicorns.

Southern Vermont (18-5 overall, 7-1 NECC) was led by four players from the Golden State.  Senior Liv Sowles (Sacramento, Calif.) and junior Meg Maddalena (Portola, Calif.) each logged double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively.  Senior Heidy Benitez (Tulare, Calif.) registered a team-high 20 digs, while junior Sarah Baty (Portola, Calif.) led all players with 24 assists.

Visiting SVC opened the match with a 25-19 victory in the first set.  The Mountaineers took the second set 25-22 and closed out the evening with a 25-18 win in the third set.  

The Wildcats await word on a possible NECC Tournament berth, as quarterfinal round action is scheduled to begin Tuesday, October 30. Southern Vermont will finish out the regular-season against visiting Eastern Nazarene Saturday at 7:00 p.m.