NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Norwich University volleyball team split a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match on Saturday afternoon, falling to Simmons University (19-25, 8-25, 9-25) before taking down Albertus Magnus College in a nail-biting five-set showdown (24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 15-9) at The Nest.

The Cadets saw their best success against the Sharks come early in the first set, as Norwich fought back from a few early deficits, including a 20-10 hole, to draw to within four after a kill from Giovanna Fruci (Wrentham, Mass.) and a handful of mistakes by Simmons.  The Sharks sealed the deal in the second and third sets, despite the Cadets claiming a pair of early leads in the third frame.

Leah Mathewson (North Chelmsford, Mass.) paced the Cadet offense with three kills, while Fruci had eight digs.

The tides turned in favor of Norwich in the second outing against the Falcons, despite an opening set where the Cadets did not lead until finally breaking through at 24-23.  The optimism was short-lived, however, as Albertus Magnus ended the set on a 3-0 run.

A sequence to open up the second frame paved the way for Norwich, spurred by a kill from Lillie Ells (Centerville, Mass.) and a pair of service aces from Mathewson.  The Cadets kept the momentum rolling late behind a 5-0 spurt, before capping off the affair on a Sam Lebruska (Lynnfield, Mass.) and two attack errors by the Falcons.

The third set opened differently, as the Falcons this time kicked it off behind a 10-3 run.  Norwich promptly responded on six-straight points, but could not overcome the Falcons lead until another 6-0 run later on pushed them ahead, 22-20.  Despite continuous efforts by Albertus Magnus, costly mistakes and another Lebruska kill rounded out the effort.

The Falcons forced a fifth set after a late-set run in the fourth, but struggled to muster much of a flow as Norwich kicked off the fray on a 10-3 run.  Kills by Fruci and Mathewson kept the Falcons at bay, and both rallied for a block on the final possession to secure victory.

Ells and Abby Kanaga (Apopka, Fla.) were dominant, tallying 14 and 13 kills, respectively.  Ava Nihill (Marshfield, Mass.) set another career-high in assists, this time handing out 41.  Autumn Parkhurst (Parish, N.Y.) and Lebruska tied for the team-high in digs with 14.

Norwich will now return home for three in a row, hosting Rivier University on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 6:00 p.m.  The Cadets will follow that up with showdowns against Johnson & Wales University and New England College on Oct. 20 and Oct. 25, respectively, with both games set for 6:00 p.m.