Holyoke, MA (September 10, 2023) – The Northern Essex Community College women's volleyball program kicked off their season over the weekend with a non-conference tri-match at Holyoke and were joined by Roxbury Community College. The Knights defeated the host Cougars by a score of 3-1, before sweeping Roxbury 3-0.

The 2-0 start is the best start to a season for NECC since the 2018 season and also gives first year head Franchesca Nival the first two collegiate wins of her career. NECC went up 2-0 on HCC 25-7 and 25-11 before dropping the third set 25-18 and sealing the win with a 25-16 set victory. NECC swept the Tigers in the second match with scores of 25-3, 25-7 and 25-11.

Against Holyoke, Abigail Heredia (Lawrence) led the Knights as she had 19 kills with a .613 attack percentage. Telaviv Nunez (Lawrence) and Vielka Sanchez (Lawrence) set up the NECC offense as they dished out 21 and 18 assists each.

Chantel Melgen (Lawrence) keyed the defensive side of the net as she recorded 13 digs, while Maria Reyes (Lawrence) served up eight aces in the match.

Stats from the Roxbury match are currently unavailable.

The Knights will hit the road on Thursday for a non-conference match at Great Bay Community College, before making their home debut on Saturday when they open up Region 21 conference play on Saturday hosting a tri-match with Quinsigamond and Roxbury.