Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 KEENE, N.H. – In a highly-contested match that saw 25 ties and 12 lead changes in the opening four sets, the Keene State College volleyball team led from start to finish in the deciding fifth set, rallying from a set down to knock off Eastern Connecticut State University 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 15-8) in a Little East Conference contest Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium. The Owls fell to Rochester Institute of Technology 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-18) in a non-conference match to wrap up the day.
Records
- Keene State: 11-6, 2-1 LEC
- Eastern Connecticut: 9-4, 2-2 LEC
- RIT: 14-2
How It Happened – Eastern Connecticut
The Owls twice found themselves down a set in an important Little East Conference match, but used a powerful 8-0 start to the fourth set to regain confidence and, despite a Warrior comeback, fought through to force a fifth frame that tilted in their favor right away. KSC raced out to leads of 4-0 and 7-1, never letting Eastern Connecticut any closer than three. Once they did, the Owls immediately posted four consecutive kills, two from
Cassidy Samuelson, for a 14-7 advantage.
Sydney Johnson finished things for the Owls, swallowing up Alaetra Long's wild continue after
Elizabeth Johnson's attempted block. While winning the final set 15-8, Keene State did not commit an error and had nine kills, hitting nearly .475. They had only three attacking miscues in the final two sets and finished with nearly 20 fewer than the Warriors in the match. KSC also had 10 more total blocks (15-5) and forced the Warriors into 10 reception errors, with four of the aces coming from
Sydney Johnson who also had a team-high 15 digs and matched a team-best with 13 kills.
Ali McLoughlin also had 13 spikes while hitting .314.
Elizabeth Johnson recorded 10 kills and hit .333.
KSC's breakaway fifth set was a stark contrast to the opening four, where they were decided by a combined total of just nine points. Early leads did not necessarily mean much, either, when the teams split those frames, as the Owls went on a 14-7 burst to lead 14-12 after giving Eastern the first five points of the match. The Warriors bounced back with six straight to go back up four (18-14) only to see consecutive blocks by Keene State give the hosts the lead back at 22-21. That edge did not last long, either, as three consecutive well-timed kills, two from Abby Stern, brought up match point, where the rang up another spike to avoid extra points.
The Warriors did not trail in the early-going of the second set while amassing an 11-7 lead, and still led 20-17 after two more swings by Stern and one by Nayeli Cruz Martinez, but then came a key sequence for the Owls. KSC rattled off six in a row for a three-point lead, and wound up tying the match after two consecutive Eastern Connecticut errors.
ECSU had the better of the play early in the third also, leading by as many as five points and then 18-15 after a kill by Barry, but that lead did not last either. Keene State hit back with a 7-3 burst to take the lead and was still up 23-22 after
Sydney Johnson's kill with a chance to take the lead, but a service error zapped the surge and Warriors scored the next three in a row to again go up a set. Any momentum that might have generated did not last more than three minutes, as the Owls raced out to a match-high eight-point lead to start the fourth. Eastern Connecticut did rebound to take a one-point lead, but KSC came through late, scoring six of the final 10 points – three on kills by McLoughlin – to take another set decided by a 25-23 score.
How It Happened – RIT
In the day's final action, the Owl attack was slowed by an RIT team that has won 14 of 16 matches to start the season, including a 3-0 sweep of Eastern Connecticut right before. KSC was limited to a .048 attack percentage – by far a season low – while the Tigers hit .294 and got 18 kills from Katie Hobler. Starting a different lineup, the Owls got off to a strong start, recording three kills, two aces, and a block while running out to a 7-1 edge. RIT had a quick response, coming out of a timeout with a 12-2 run to go up four and they never slowed after that in the set, winning 25-18. Keene State had only three kills for the entire remainder of the set after building the early six-point lead.
The key to the outcome of the match likely came late in the second frame, as the Owls led for the vast majority of the time, including 11-7 after
Sydney Johnson's ace and 14-9 after
Emilyann Ashford's block. RIT put up six in a row to briefly lead, but Keene State responded and built a three-point lead on three different occasions including when Blanchet set up
Elizabeth Johnson to make it 22-19. They could not force a tie in the match, though, as the Tigers closed on a 6-1 run. Samuelson's swing leveled the score at 23 and gave the Owls a chance to serve themselves into a tie, but Cat Vento's kill and a block by she and Taylor Higgins put RIT in firm control, and they never let go, opening the third set by scoring eight consecutive points to build a 10-2 lead.
Sydney Johnson, Ashford, and
Elizabeth Johnson paced the Owls with six kills.
Service Aces
- Keene State snapped a three-game slide against Eastern Connecticut, remarkably posting their first five-set win in series history. They had lost 3-2 three times. The Owls' last five head-to-head wins were all sweeps.
- The league win keeps KSC just one game behind Plymouth State University in the loss column in the Little East Conference standings and gives the Owls head-to-head victories over Western Connecticut State University and Eastern Connecticut. Keene State's remaining five LEC opponents have a combined league mark of 5-12, while Plymouth still has to travel to WCSU (October 9) and ECSU (October 23).
Up Next
- Keene State visits Clark University (9-6, 2-3 NEWMAC) on Thursday, October 7 at 7:00 p.m.
- Eastern Connecticut hosts Connecticut College (3-5, 1-4 NESCAC) on Wednesday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m.
- RIT returns home to take on Union College (4-10, 0-2) in Liberty League matchup Friday, October 8 (7:00 p.m.).
