Auburn, ME – Three players racked up 10 or more kills and the #3 seeded CMCC Volleyball team opened their defense of the conference title with 3-1 victory over #6 seed Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in the YSCC Tournament Quarterfinals on Sunday morning in Auburn.



Isabella Higgins (11), Jaki Bartoschek (11), and Natalie Roy (10) led the Mustangs attacking efforts with double digits in kills. Setters Shalamar Szarka and Olivia Harmon had plenty of assists with 25 and 16 respectively, while Keliah Stith and Cierra-Lynn Sheppard had the most digs in the match with 14 and 13.



Autumn Peterson had a team-high 8 aces, which tied her for the most points in the match with Roy at 14 apiece. But Central Maine was hampered by 26 attacking errors and 15 service errors during the match, which cost them points and the second set.



CMCC took set one 25-17. The Mustangs built a three point lead in the early going, increasing that to a 15-8 lead with back-to-back kills by Higgins and good serving from Stith. ACPHS did trim the deficit with a run of five straight points, their longest streak of the entire match, before an ace from Harmon and an attack error on set point brought things to a close.

The Panthers would battle back in set two through to even the match. Both teams went point-for-point with each other in a classic tug of war, with neither squad having more than a three point lead throughout the set. The Mustangs committed 17 errors allowing ACPHS to stay close, and when facing down set point at 24-25, the Panthers won three straight to take it 27-25.



Central Maine shook off any concerns about postseason jitters by making a strong start to set three. The Mustangs raced out to a 12-2 lead and drastically cut down the number of errors. Three straight points by ACPHS merely delayed things before a set into the net ended things at 25-9.



The Panthers looked to force the match to a fifth and deciding set, jumping out to a slim 11-8 lead. That was reversed though when CMCC took six straight points with Shalamar Szarka at the service line. Aces by Peterson, Stith, and Harmon kept the hosts out in front the rest of the way, and Roy clinched the victory with a kill on match point to take the set 25-15.



The Mustangs have now won their last five YSCC Tournament matches, and will look to make it three straight conference titles when they head to championship weekend hosted by NHTI. #3 CMCC will take on #2 Paul Smith's College on Saturday, October 26th with the winner advancing to play the victor of SMCC and NHTI in the championship match.