'WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -  Emma Sousa (Coventry, CT) and Jessica Keogh (Monroe, CT)  combined for 25 kills and a .306 attack percentage to lift the Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team to a 30-23, 30-18, 31-29 win over Keene State College in the semifinals of the Little East Conference tournament at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium Friday night.

A winner of 14 of its last 16, top-seeded Eastern (29-9) faces second-seeded Rhode Island College (20-12) in Saturday's noon final. The winner earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. Rhode Island qualified for the LEC final for the first time with a 30-23, 25-30, 30-28, 30-21 win over No. 3 seeded Plymouth State University earlier Friday.

Keene State (23-13), which was swept by Eastern in last year's final, was seeded fourth in the tournament and had reached the semifinals by sweeping Western Connecticut State University in a first-round game Tuesday. The Warriors have won five tournament titles and finished second five times in the 11-year history of the event.

Sousa, the conference point leader, had 14 kills and attacked at .345 while Keogh had 11 kills and attacked at .273. Lesley Mumford (Yarmouth, MA) added nine kills with a .571 attack percentage.

Keogh had nine of her kills in the first-game win, closing the match with five straight. While Sousa managed only one kill in the first game, Mumford supported Keogh with five kills and just one error on six attempts. Sousa had eight kills in game two. Eastern rallied from five points down late in the third game. Trailing 29-26, the Warriors scored the final five points of the match. Angela Loomis (Meriden, CT) gave Eastern a 30-29 lead with a kill and Mumford closed out the win with another  kill.

Brittany O'Bryant (Merrimack, NH) and Kelly Yankowski (Turners Falls, MA), Keene's top offensive players, each had eight kills but attacked at only .145. O'Bryant had four blocks. Sarah Peterson (Danville, NH) , who came off the bench in Game 3 to give the Owls the late lead, had 12 digs, as did Yankowski. Genna Florkowski (East Northport, NY) had nine digs, Jordan Pokryfki (Wasilla, AK) eight digs, 24 assists, and four blocks.

Second in the conference in service aces, Eastern's Marianna Capomolla (Stamford, CT) had five of the team's eight. Capomolla, the program's all-time dig leader, led all players with 29 and ishandled only one of 32 reception attempts. Setter Priscilla Dougherty (Island Park, NY) established a program season record for assists. She had 38 in the match to give her 1,231 on the season, breaking Michelle Cunningham's 1998 record of 1,220. Dougherty also became the fifth player in program history with 2,000 assists. She now has 2,031.

The Owls, who have lost three of their last four, commited ten reception errors and 11 service errors in three games.

The team's had split a pair of sweeps this year. Keene had Sept. 9 in  a non-conference match at Endicott College while Eastern swept the Owls Sept. 23 at Geissler Gym.

(Courtesy ECSU Sports Information)