CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University hosted Mitchell College in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Quarterfinals on Wednesday night and earned a 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-16) victory to advance onto the championship tournament to be held Saturday at Daniel Webster College. The Lynx improved their record to 9-10 (5-2 NECC) while the Mariners ended their 2008 season with a 8-14 (3-4 NECC) mark.

The visiting Mariners took control of the match by winning the first set 25-22. Mitchell held a lead as high as six points as Lesley struggled with errors. The Lynx were able to cut the lead down to one point at 21-20 but the Mariners were able to regain composure to take the set as the Lynx committed three errors in the next four points. In the set, Mitchell had two kills a piece from Stephanie Davis (Ledyard, Conn.) and Sarah Senetcen (Terryville, Conn.) and defensively were led by Heather-Renae Powers (Niantic, Conn.) and Kimberly Campbell (Springfield, Mass.) who combined for powerful block.

Momentum shifted in Lesley's favor in the second set as the Lynx were able to tie up the match 1-1 with a tight 25-23 set victory. Mitchell led late in the set, but Lesley took six of eight points down the stretch. Kelly Harrington (Toledo, Ohio) had four of her eight match kills in the second set for the Lynx.

In the third set, Lesley maintain control of the match as they took an early lead that they would not relinquish. For the Lynx, Meaghan Chadwick (Chelmsford, Mass.) was effective with five kills and Lindsey Marek (Killingworth, Conn.) chipped in with three of her own.

Mitchell put up a fight in the match's final set, getting the score as close as one point at 11-10, but Lesley outscore Mitchell 14-6 to finish off the set and win the match.

For the match, Mitchell was led by Davis who tallied nine kills at a 0.222 hit percentage. Davis also was one of two Mariners to total double-digit digs as her and teammate Dana Keele (Cascade, Mont.) had 14 and 11, respectively. Setter Jennifer Bordonaro (Winsted, Conn.) dished out 23 assists in the loss.

The Lynx were paced by Chadwick and Marek who had 15 and 11 kills each. Harrington and Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, N.Y.) were also effective offensively as they each finished eight kills. Gianna Spaziante (Hawthorne, N.Y.) distributed the ball out to her teammates to the tune of 35 set assists and had a team-high 18 digs.

Lesley now advances onto the NECC Championship Tournament to be held on the campus of Daniel Webster College. The Lynx will face off with #1 seed Daniel Webster starting at 11:00 am. The winner of that match will face the winner of the other semifinal at 3:00 pm the same day.

Meet The Coach

Vinh Nguyen

Vinh Nguyen was named the next head coach of the Mitchell College women’s volleyball team in March 2026.

Nguyen arrives in New London following a seven-year tenure as head coach at the University of Hartford from 2018–25, where he guided the program to multiple individual accolades and sustained success both on and off the court. Under his leadership, Hartford produced a pair of conference Players of the Year, two All-Americans, a Rookie of the Year, and eight all-conference selections, along with 11 all-academic honorees. He also served on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) East Region Selection Committee and the AVCA Division I Head Coaches Committee.

Prior to his time at Hartford, Nguyen spent three seasons as associate head coach at the University of North Texas, where he played a key role in a Conference USA championship season in 2017 that saw the team post a 29–3 record. In that role, he served as recruiting coordinator and helped develop multiple award-winning players, including a two-time conference Player of the Year and All-American.

Nguyen also served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at California State University, Fullerton, helping the program capture the Big West Conference title in 2010.

His extensive coaching background includes experience at the international level as a staff member with the USA Men’s Olympic Team from 2005–07, where he assisted with preparation for major international competitions, including the World League and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

At the collegiate level, Nguyen previously spent time at Cal Poly Pomona, where he contributed to a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championship team that finished 25–2 while helping develop multiple All-Americans and all-conference performers.

In addition to his collegiate and international experience, Nguyen founded and directed the Top Gun Volleyball Academy for 20 years, training more than 3,000 athletes and helping develop players who went on to compete at all levels of collegiate volleyball, including the Olympic stage.

Nguyen began his coaching career at the high school level in California and also served as an adjunct professor of kinesiology at Cal Poly Pomona. He earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Cal Poly Pomona in 2000.

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