Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Taking the floor for a competitive match for the first time in 509 days, the Keene State College women's volleyball team was dealt a tough 3-2 (25-19, 12-25, 25-22, 13-25, 11-15) setback by Eastern Connecticut State University in their 2021 spring Little East Conference opener Sunday afternoon at Geissler Gymnasium.
Records
- Keene State: 0-1, 0-1 LEC
- Eastern Connecticut: 1-0, 1-0 LEC
How It Happened
It was a back-and-forth affair the entire time, as KSC took the first and third sets only to see Eastern rebound with emphatic wins in the second and fourth. The Owls built a three-point lead in the decisive fifth frame, but the Warriors eventually knotted it at 10 and scored five of the final six points to secure the win. ECSU had nine kills on 10 attacks in the final set, a .900 hitting percentage, and did not commit an error. They had four players record double-digit kills, including a game-high 15 from Alaetra Long. Anna Barry added 12 while Lauren Notholt and Nayeli Cruz Martinez finished with 10. Trailing by two after a timeout in the fifth set, Keene State was unable to slow down the Warriors, as Abby Stern racked up the final two of Eastern's 14 aces to bring up match point. Shortly thereafter, Martinez's kill gave her double-digits and the Warriors the win.
The Owls slowed Eastern to a grinding halt in the opening set, holding them to just nine kills and seven errors while finishing with 12 and four themselves in a 25-19 win, but ECSU hit .200 or better in each of the final four frames and .272 for the match. KSC, after a .229 hitting percentage in the first, finished at .132. In Keene State's two set wins, they combined for 25 kills and nine miscues, while in the three they dropped, they combined for just 17 kills and made 13 errors. The Owls stayed in it with a big game at the net, racking up 11 blocks.
Elizabeth Johnson had one solo and four block assists, while three others had multiple block assists.
After losing
Bailey Wilson to graduation, freshman setter
Kacie Blanchet helped the Owls fill that void nicely in her collegiate debut, finishing with 25 assists and 10 digs.
Sydney Johnson hit .281 while racking up 12 kills against only three errors. She was the only KSC player to have double-digit kills in the match.
Megan Palmer finished with eight and
Emilyann Ashford seven. Freshman libero
Reagan Fleming led the Owls with 13 digs in her first collegiate match, but KSC was minus-22 (90-68) in that category overall on the day, with Stern totaling a game-high 22 for ECSU.
Service Aces
- Since sweeping the Warriors three consecutive times, Keene State has lost the last three head-to-head meetings, a streak that began in the 2018 Little East championship.
- Palmer begins the spring ninth on Keene State's all-time attack percentage list, hitting .200 for her career.
- The Owls have a whopping nine freshmen on this spring's roster: Fleming, Sara Murphy, Josephine Sarno, Ainsley Hegg, Veronica Kroha, Blanchet, Kelsey Harper, Jillian Diamond, and Cassidy Samuelson.
Up Next
- The Owls take their home court at Spaulding Gymnasium for something other than an intrasquad scrimmage or practice for the first time since November 2, 2019 when they take on Rhode Island College on Wednesday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m.
- ECSU also takes on the Anchorwomen next, this coming Thursday (April 1) at 7:00 p.m. in Providence, R.I.
