FRANKLIN, Mass. – September 24, 2021– The Dean College women's volleyball team dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) and home opener to Elms, 3-0, Friday evening at Pieri Gymnasium. Elms won by scores of 25-15, 25-11 and 25-17.

The Bulldogs dip to 1-7 overall and 0-1 in the GNAC. Dean plays at Bridgewater State on Monday night at 7 p.m. Elms improves to 7-3 overall and remains perfect in the conference at 3-0. The Blazers travel to Lasell for a tri-match with Fisher.

Elms raced out to a 7-3 advantage in the first and never looked back. Dean scored the next two points on a service error and a Sari Albury (Nassau, Bahamas) kill, but the Blazers posted 13 kills to take the first set 25-15. Senior Alanys Cruz (Humacao, P.R.) had seven kills for Elms in the frame.

In the second set, the Blazers began with a 10-1 run to force a Dean timeout. The Bulldogs fought back with a 7-2 run of their own to pull within 12-8. First-year Jordan Cournoyer-Herivaux (Pawtucket, R.I.) had three kills in the run for Dean. Elms regained control and closed the set with a 13-3 run to win 25-11. Elms had seven aces in the second set.

Elms was able to make it a sweep by taking the third by a score of 25-17. The first half of the stanza was closely played as Elms held a slim 11-9 lead. With the score 16-13, in favor of the visitors, senior Elese Ciarcia (South Glastonbury, Conn.) contributed four kills in the final stretch to help Elms take the set 25-17.

Cruz tallied a match best 15 kills on .370 hitting and 12 digs for Elms. Ciarcia finished with five kills and no errors, while Jaylianne Ramos (Boca Raton, Fla.) added six kills. Junior Natalia Caraballo (Arlington, Texas) tallied 29 assists and four aces.

Albury paced the Bulldogs with eight kills and a block. Sophomore Annabella Driscoll (Plymouth, Mass.) finished with 20 assists. First-year Janai Price (Providence, R.I.) had six kills.