CONCORD, N.H. – NHTI Volleyball will conclude its 2026 regular season Wednesday evening, traveling to Portsmouth, N.H., for a Yankee Small College Conference matchup against Great Bay Community College. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Student Success Center.
The Lynx enter the matchup at 11-4 overall and 7-4 in conference play, looking to return to the win column following consecutive losses to Central Maine Community College (Oct. 4) and Southern Maine Community College (Oct. 8).
Wednesday's contest marks the eighth all-time meeting between the two New Hampshire programs, with NHTI holding a perfect 7-0 record against the Herons dating back to their first matchup on Sept. 26, 2023. The Lynx have won all 21 sets played between the programs, including four sweeps in Concord and three in Portsmouth.
The programs last met Sept. 30, when NHTI celebrated Sophomore Night with a 3-0 victory at the Dr. Goldie Crocker Wellness Center, winning 25-21, 25-9 and 25-21.
Sophomore captain Brooke Kelly (Nottingham, N.H.) led the Lynx offensively in that contest with a match-high 16 kills on 33 attempts, hitting .273 while adding eight digs, four block assists and a service ace. Ashlynn Williams (Greenfield, N.H.) contributed a match-high 17 digs, while Esther de Souza Quina (Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil) recorded 26 assists, nine digs and three kills.
NHTI limited Great Bay to a negative hitting percentage in all three sets, as the Herons finished the match with 15 kills and 24 attack errors on 105 attempts, hitting -.086. The Lynx recorded 33 kills and a .152 hitting percentage in the victory.
Entering the week, NHTI sits third in the YSCC East standings behind Southern Maine Community College (10-1) and Central Maine (9-2), while Great Bay sits fourth at 3-7.
Kelly has led NHTI's offensive production throughout the season, recording 161 kills and averaging 3.50 per set through 13 matches. Both figures lead the YSCC entering the week, as does her average of 0.63 blocks per set.
Emma Kowalski (Atkinson, N.H.) ranks second on the team with 89 kills, followed by Williams with 56 and de Souza Quina with 53. De Souza Quina has also recorded 307 assists and a team-high 38 service aces, averaging 6.27 assists per set.
Defensively, sophomore captain Brooke Hurlbert (Franklin, N.H.) leads the Lynx with 163 digs, followed by Haven Schwartz (Buxton, N.C.) with 157, Kelly with 154 and de Souza Quina with 148.
Great Bay enters the week at 3-7 overall and in conference play, led offensively by Gabby Dale, who has recorded 89 kills and averages 2.87 per set. Dale also leads the YSCC with 1.13 service aces per set, while Taylor Briand has added 60 kills and 75 digs.
Autumn Loving leads the Herons defensively with 132 digs, averaging 3.88 per set, while Madelyn Mietzner leads the team with 0.37 blocks per set.
Wednesday's match marks the end of NHTI's regular-season schedule ahead of the YSCC postseason, set to begin next week.
First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Student Success Center in Portsmouth, N.H. Fans can watch the match live on the YSCC Sports Network.
