CONCORD, N.H. - NHTI Volleyball returns to Yankee Small College Conference play Thursday afternoon when the Lynx travel to York County Community College for a 4 p.m. matchup in Wells, Maine.
NHTI enters Thursday with a 4-0 record after opening the season with four consecutive straight-set victories. The Lynx have yet to drop a set through their first four matches, earning 3-0 wins over Northern Essex Community College, Roxbury Community College, Southern Maine Community College, and Bunker Hill Community College.
Thursday marks NHTI's second YSCC matchup of the season. The Lynx opened conference play with a 3-0 victory over Southern Maine on Sept. 10 in Concord, taking the match by scores of 25-16, 25-20, and 25-21.
Sophomore captain Brooke Kelly (Nottingham, N.H.) enters the match after being named the YSCC Player of the Week for Fall Week 2 on Tuesday. Kelly totaled 18 kills, 19 assists, six service aces, 13 digs, and six blocks across NHTI's victories over Southern Maine and Bunker Hill during the award period.
Across its three matches with published statistics, NHTI has totaled 85 kills, 80 assists, 30 service aces, 139 digs, and 19 blocks while limiting opponents to a .017 hitting percentage. Statistics from Sept. 4's Roxbury Community College match are not yet available.
Kelly leads the Lynx with 26 kills and 38.5 points in those published statistics while adding 19 assists, eight service aces, 24 digs, and six blocks. Esther de Souza Quina (Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil) has directed the NHTI offense with 52 assists while hitting a team-best .458 on 24 attacks. Quina has also recorded six service aces, 24 digs, and a team-high nine blocks.
Emma Kowalski (Atkinson, N.H.) has added 17 kills, six aces, 17 digs, and five blocks, while Ashlynn Williams (Greenfield, N.H.) has recorded 12 kills, seven aces, 24 digs, and seven blocks. Brooke Hurlbert (Franklin, N.H.) leads NHTI with 29 digs and has contributed 10 kills, while Haven Schwartz (Buxton, N.C.) has added 20 digs.
York County is competing in its inaugural volleyball season, making Thursday the first meeting between the Lynx and Hawks.
The Hawks currently sit at 0-2 overall and 0-1 in YSCC play based on their published results. York opened its season Aug. 30 with a 3-0 home loss to Community College of Rhode Island before falling 3-0 to Southern Maine on Sept. 2. York also has a Sept. 10 road contest against Bunker Hill Community College listed on its schedule, but no result has been published on either York County's or Bunker Hill's website.
First serve between NHTI and York County is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17.
Watch live on the YSCC Sports Network.
