NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team lost its first set ever to Mitchell College after 23 consecutive wins but went on to a 3-1 non-conference victory Wednesday night at the Yarnall Athletic Center. Set scores were 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 25-5.

A winner of three straight, Eastern (7-1) had swept Mitchell (3-7) the first seven times the programs had met and captured the first two sets Wednesday before the Mariners remained alive with a two-point win in the third set. Mitchell led from start to finish in the third set, racing to a 7-2 lead.

In the 20-point win in the fourth set, 13 players saw time for the Warriors, with junior Nayeli Cruz Martinez (Toa Baja, P.R.) slamming six kills, senior Meg Verizzi (Lebanon) collecting nine assists and five digs and first-year player Cassie Parmelee (East Berlin) serving three aces.

In the match, Cruz Martinez had 11 kills without an error for a .611 attack percentage and senior Anna Barry (Andover) had a match-high 13 kills and a .550 attack percentage that raised her career percentage to .367. Verizzi had 46 assists and matched senior Abby Stern (Manchester) with a team-high 13 digs, junior libero Paula Pérez (Caguas, P.R.) digging 12 balls. Perez was also perfect on 16 serve receptions.

Eastern visits the University of Southern Maine Saturday in a noon Little East Conference match and also faces Colby College in a non-conference match at USM's Warren Hill Gymnasium. The Warriors lead the all-time series against USM, 19-3, but lost in four sets when the teams last met, in 2019, at the Hill Gymnasium.