Volleyball cruises to Region 21 Championship, first since 2018

Haverhill, MA (October 29, 2023) – For the first time since 2018, the Northern Essex Community College women's volleyball team are the Region 21 champions as the top seeded Knights cruised to a pair of 3-0 victories in Sunday's Region 21/Northeast District Championship tournament. The wins improve NECC unbeaten record to 23-0 and they have punched their ticket to the NJCAA National Tournament in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Semi-Final: NECC 3 Massasoit 0

With set score victories of 25-11, 25-6 and 25-9, NECC rolled over the Warriors of Massasoit as they attacked with a .333 percent for the match.

Vielka Sanchez (Lawrence) led the Knights offensive attack as she recorded 16 service aces in the match, to go along with eight kills and 14 assists.

Abigail Heredia (Lawrence) had a match high 11 kills while Chantel Melgen (Lawrence) controlled the defensive side of the net.

Championship Match: NECC 3 CC Rhode Island 0

It was much of the same for the Knights in the championship match as they defeated CCRI by set scores of 25-9, 25-14 and 25-8.

For the second straight match, Heredia contributed the match high 11 kills as she hit at .579 for the contest.

Telaviv Nunez (Lawrence) tossed up 17 assists that paced the offensive effort, while Sanchez contributed 10 of her own.

Melgen and Lirianys Rosario (Lawrence) led the defensive effort as they each contributed seven digs in the match.

Sanchez was selected as the regional tournaments Most Outstanding Player.

Next up for the Knights is the 16-team national tournament at the Allegiant Energy Power Fieldhouse in Cedar Rapids, IA. The tournament is set to get underway on Thursday November 9^th. Tournament seeding will be announced on Tuesday at 12:00pm when the Seeding and Selection Show will air on the NJCAA Network.