Box Score KEENE, N.H. – After playing their first seven matches of the season away from home, the Keene State College women's volleyball team finally took the court at Spaulding Gymnasium and made it a happy return, pulling away to a 3-1 victory (25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) over Rivier University in non-conference action Tuesday evening at Spaulding Gymnasium.
Records
- Keene State: 6-2
- Rivier: 1-2
How It Happened
Keene State actually posted their second-lowest attack percentage in a match this season, but 15 kills from
Ali McLoughlin and 12 from the consistent
Emilyann Ashford while also having a 15-7 edge in aces as a team helped the Owls win for the sixth time in eight tries in 2021. The Raiders, who entered having taken the court just twice, were feisty, as it took KSC a late burst to escape with a 25-20 win in the opening set. They could not escape in the second, as despite leading 22-18 and seemingly in good shape, Rivier roared back with six consecutive points to take a two-point lead and wound up stealing the frame on Lily Sills' kill, finishing on a 7-1 run.
The Owls trailed 5-2 in the third set and were still neck-and-neck at 17 after consecutive kills from Rivier's Lily Blodgett, but four in a row for KSC including two spikes from
Sydney Johnson finally gave the home team breathing room, which carried over into the eventual clinching fourth set, which was dominated by the Owls. Keene State never trailed and raced out to a 9-2 lead, which became 14-4 after four consecutive kills – three by McLoughlin, who had six in the set. As a team, the Owls had three of their seven blocks in that frame and five aces. Rivier was never closer than seven again, and once they drew within that margin, McLoughin notched a kill and
Elizabeth Johnson an ace to make it 22-13. An ace by
Brianna Azzinaro set up match point for the Owls, and despite three in a row from the Raiders to stave it off briefly, McLoughlin fittingly ended the match with her 15th spike.
Sills and Blodgett paced Rivier with 10 kills.
Reagan Fleming had a season-best 26 digs for Keene State, while
Kacie Blanchet finished with 41 assists and four digs.
Service Aces
- Keene State snapped a four-game home losing streak against Rivier with the win. The Owls lead the series 15-12. The Raiders were picked second in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference preseason poll, only behind four-time defending league champion Johnson and Wales University (R.I.), who the Owls will be playing this weekend.
- McLoughlin has 27 kills against only seven errors in her last two matches. Ashford has 63 kills on the season while hitting .313. She has 33 spikes, only seven miscues, and seven block assists in her last three outings.
- KSC has held opponents to a .150 attack percentage this season.
Up Next
- The Owls visit New England College (6-2) for the first time in the series on Thursday (September 16) at 7:00 p.m.
- Rivier entertains Westfield State University (0-9) and Maine Maritime Academy (3-3) in a tri-match on Saturday, September 18 at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively.
