NEW YORK, N.Y.--The Keene State College volleyball team fell in a pair of matches on the opening day of the New York University Labor Day Invitational on Friday night.  Keene State dropped a five set match to Hunter College 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 11-15) and a 3-1 decision to Emerson College (24-26, 23-25, 25-22, 17-25).

Records

• Keene State: 0-2
• Emerson 2-0
• Hunter: 1-1 

Up Next

• The tourney continues for Keene State on Saturday with matches against Ramapo (10:30 am) and Plattsburgh State (4:30 pm.

Tale of the Tape - Hunter College

• Sophomore Riley Bunker had 20 digs, four assists, and four service aces.  Classmate Jenny Nohara had 11 assists and 11 digs, while junior Rachel Lamica had a team high nine kills, with 12 digs and three service aces.  

Junior Katie Cunningham had a team high 15 assists.  Junior Courtney Collins added eight kills and a solo block.

How It Happened - Hunter College

• A Hunter attack error got KSC within 8-7 in the first set, but the Hawks scored eight of the next 10 points, punctuated by a kill from Julia Connolly, to lead 16-9.
• The Owls never got closer than eight the rest of the way in the first set, which ended on a service ace from Taylor Kerr-Haiduk.
• Keene State came roaring out of the gate in the second set, opening up a 9-3 lead on an ace from senior Leslie Hearns.  The Hawks got within 13-11 on a service error, but the Owls slammed the door shut, finishing the set on a 12-7 burst as kills from Lamica and Cunningham ended the stanza.
• The Owls held an early lead again in the third set, as Collins and Katie Dyer combined for a block and an 8-7 lead.  Hunter inched back into the set, going up 13-10 on an KSC service error, and finishing the set with a 25-20 win.
• The fourth set was nip-and-tuck, with the scored tied at 15 before the Owls pulled away.  Collins' kill gave KSC a 19-15 lead, and a service ace from Bunker and a kill from Lamica ended the set and tied the match.
• The deciding set was also close, with the Owls getting within 12-11 on Kat Carrel's kill, before the Hawks ended the match with the final three points.

Tale of the Tape - Emerson College

• The Owl offense, which hit just .101 against Hunter, showed marked improvement, hitting .204 paced by 12 kills from Lamica, and nine from senior Brooke Hatanaka, who hit .316.  Collins added nine more kills and hit .389.  Bunker added 22 more digs, with eight assists and two service aces.
• Nohara had 19 assists and 10 digs, while Cunningham had 13 and 10, respectively.

How It Happened - Emerson College

• The Owls led 16-13 midway through the first set, but an 8-3 runs for the Lions gave them a 21-19 lead on a kill by Elizabeth Reid.  Brooke Hatanaka's kill forced extra points, but the Lions rattled off the next two to claim the set.
• The second set was similar to the first; neither team led by more than two points throughout.  Collins' kill got KSC within one at 20-19, and Lamica's kill tied the set at 21.  
• After the Lions took a 23-21 lead, consecutive Emerson errors knotted the score again at 23 before kills from Annie Hall and Fara Cohen ended the set.
• Keene State claimed the third set and led nearly start to finish.  The set was tied 9-9 before KSC scored the next six points for a 15-9 lead and never looked back.  The Lions closed to within 24-22 on a KSC error, but Kat Carrel sealed the match with a block on Kelley Guerra.
• The fourth set, beginning around 11:45 pm, saw the Lions slowly pull away.  Collins had a kill that tied the set at five, but the Lions went on an 11-6 run for a 16-11 lead and never let KSC get closer than five the rest of the way.

Note: Technical issues forced a delay in this release.