Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Keene State Women's Volleyball Senior Video
KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College women's volleyball team won the first two sets Saturday afternoon by a combined 24 points and cruised past the University of Southern Maine 3-0 (25-14, 25-12, 25-21) in a Little East Conference match at Spaulding Gymnasium on Senior Day. The Owls could not hold on in the nightcap, losing a 2-1 sets lead and an 11-8 points advantage in the decisive fifth frame while falling to Trinity College (Conn.) 3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 26-24, 15-25, 15-17).
Records
- Keene State: 15-10, 4-3 LEC
- Southern Maine: 11-14, 2-5 LEC
- Trinity (Conn.): 10-12
How It Happened – Southern Maine
Keene State racked up 26 kills total while hitting .300 and .379 in the first two sets, respectively, as they downed USM for the 17th time in 20 tries to ensure a spot in the Little East Conference tournament in early November. The Owls are currently tied for second in the standings with three other teams at 4-3, and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth could join that group tomorrow if they dispatch last-place Castleton University. Plymouth State University clinched the top seed today with a five-set win over Eastern Connecticut State University on the road, completing the conference slate at 8-0. The top two seeds get a bye to the semifinals, with three through six having to play quarterfinal matches. KSC closes their conference slate next weekend at Rhode Island College (2-5 LEC). Southern Maine was eliminated from tournament contention with today's loss, where they did not lead until scoring the first two of the second set and never by more than three at any point. Keene State's defense held the Huskies to .147 hitting or less in each set, and the hosts also racked up a 10-2 edge in aces, nine of which came in the opening two frames.
The Owls featured a balanced attack, with
Sydney Johnson leading the way with another double-double of 12 kills, 10 digs and three aces.
Emilyann Ashford continued her strong and consistent season with 11 spikes (.385 pct.) and six digs, while
Cassidy Samuelson swung at a .474 clip and had 10 kills one match after posting a career-best 19.
Kacie Blanchet had 35 assists, eight digs, three aces, and helped run a KSC offense that hit .303 overall in the match, their third best mark of the season.
KSC set the tone quickly, as kills by Johnson and Ashford helped them run out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set. Three more spikes in a row – two by Samuelson – a short time later helped the Owls put up a string of six straight that helped balloon a four-point edge into a 15-5 lead, and they were well on their way from there, as USM never got closer than seven after that. Keene State actually bettered their hitting percentage in the second frame and won even more decisively, firing off a 12-3 burst after the Huskies' brief 2-0 lead that ended with five consecutive kills, three by Ashford and two by Johnson. The advantage kept growing, again into double-figures at 17-7 after an ace by KSC's serving leader Blanchet. Southern Maine put up three in a row to get within seven, but the Owls closed the set easily with an 8-2 finishing push. Facing a big hole, the Huskies played in front for the first time in the third after scoring nine of 14 points for a three-point (9-6) lead. It was still 12-9 after Brianna Delloiacono's spike, who finished with a match-high 13, but KSC put up seven consecutive points on five kills, a block, and an ace to surge in front 18-14. Southern Maine got within two twice thereafter, but Ashford's kill made it 23-19 and
Elizabeth Johnson's swing four points later wrapped up the Owls' fourth league victory.
How It Happened – Trinity
Keene State fought back several different times, scoring five consecutive points while up against set point in the third to go ahead in the match for the first time, but Trinity hit .303 and .312 in the final two frames to post their first win over a Little East team this season after going 0-for-6 in sets against Eastern Connecticut and Western Connecticut previously. The Owls overcame a -.053 attacking mark in a 25-18 first set defeat by hitting .353 in the second, but with a chance to clinch the match in the fourth, slipped back down to a .059 mark. A highly-contested fifth set saw the teams continually exchange blows, but it seemed KSC was in a good spot after a pair of kills by
Elizabeth Johnson and another ace by Blanchet made it 11-8. It was still 12-9 after Molly Bernstein's attacking error, but Eva Lekovic and Lola Craig helped bring the Bantams back with three straight. Keene State had their first shot at match point when Samuelson powered down a kill for a 14-13 edge, but Trinity scored the next two on kills by Ally Conde and Hareena Johnson to force an Owl timeout. In a must score situation, Ashford's swing found the floor to tie the deciding set for the ninth time and the match for the 35th time (to go along with 17 lead changes). There would be no lead change this time, as KSC could not get over the hump, with Johnson hammering home two more of her match-high tying 17 kills off feeds from Grace Sullivan to give the Bantams a win in their first visit to Spaulding Gymnasium since 2006.
Elizabeth Johnson saved a career-best 17 kills on .353 hitting for Senior Day, while classmate Ashford added 11. Samuelson tacked on nine while Blanchet had 44 kills and 17 digs for KSC. The Owls had a 12-6 edge in total blocks, but were minus-17 (86-69) in digs as five Bantams finished in double-digits in that category.
Service Aces
- The Owls honored their Senior Class of Johnson, Brianna Azzinaro, Ashford, Sarah Williams, and Ali McLoughlin before today's second match. The five have gone 64-30 over their careers thus far.
- Keene State can clinch an LEC tournament quarterfinal home game with a win next weekend at Rhode Island College.
- Elizabeth Johnson is hitting a team-best .315 on 355 total attacks this season and .302 for her career.
Up Next
- KSC has two non-conference matches this week, beginning with a trip to Rivier University (16-5, 11-0 GNAC) on Tuesday, October 26 for a 7:00 p.m. start. The Owls beat the Raiders 3-1 in Keene earlier this season.
- Southern Maine visits Bates College (7-13, 2-6 NESCAC) on Wednesday, October 27 at 7:00 p.m.
- Trinity hosts Wesleyan University (Conn.) (14-5, 7-2 NESCAC) on Thursday (October 28) at 6:00 p.m.
