NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University women's volleyball team had waited 520 days since its last contest to take the court for the first time in the 2020-21 season. The Cadets didn't disappoint reeling off a 3-1 non-conference victory over NVU-Johnson on Friday evening at Andrews Gym.

Norwich (1-0) won by set scores of 25-8, 25-21, 20-25, and 25-8. The Cadets hit .216 as a team and held the Badgers offense to a -0.039 hitting percentage. The home side blockers got their hands on a lot of the visitors' attacks (11 total blocks) and the offense was able to transition and convert on its opportunities.

Leading the attack was senior Kathryn Farnum (North Andover, Mass.) who put down 16 kills while hitting .333. She also led the team with 22 digs. Sophomore Maggie McNeil (Gilford, N.H.) contributed 11 kills while scoring at a .222 rate and added 11 digs. Steering the offense was sophomore Sarah Farnum (North Andover, Mass.) who recorded 34 assists while freshman Laura Farnum (Andover, Mass.) led the team with three service aces while adding 16 digs.

With the score tied at 5-5 in the opening set, the Cadets cruised to the first set win with a 14-0 run during K. Farnum's spot in the service rotation. The team hit a blistering .370 in the set win and defensively forced the Badgers into 12 hitting errors.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to string together more than a few points at a time. A service ace by junior Kylie Berry gave the Badgers an early 7-4 lead forcing the Cadets into a timeout. The hosts emerged from the break with four-straight points to take an 8-7 lead. NVU-Johnson (0-2) re-established the lead with an ace from junior Christina Betham and a kill from freshman Jimmi Lynn Williams to go up 11-8. The teams exchanged points until a K. Farnum kill combined with another from sophomore Ana Lopez (Laredo, Texas) knotted the game at 17-17. The Badgers went up 21-20 briefly, but the Cadets closed the second set with a 5-0 run to secure the second set victory.

The Norwich attack got out of synch late in the third set as the Cadets hit just .036 overall. After enjoying a mid-set 14-9 lead, the Badgers went on a 13-3 run on the strength of Porsche Johnson's service game. The sophomore contributed three aces and a kill during the run to take a 22-17 lead. The visitors used a kill from Betham to close out the third set win.

The Cadets righted the offensive wrongs in the fourth set while hitting .333 as a team. With the score tied 3-3 in the early going, Norwich rallied for seven-straight points to lead 10-3 and used that momentum and several other small runs to secure the match win.

On an interesting note, this match marked the debut of the three Farnum sisters who are all in separate classes. The game featured several rallies in which each Farnum contributed a touch.

NVU-Johnson will have an opportunity to exact revenge on its home court when Norwich pays it a visit next Friday for the Cadets' final game of a shortened 2020-21 slate. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.