KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore
Gigi Stake finished with a career-best 16 kills and made only two errors, but the Keene State College women's volleyball team could not hold onto two match leads, nor two important set leads, as they lost to Rivier University 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 16-25, 13-15) in non-conference action Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.
Records
- Keene State: 4-7
- Rivier: 5-2
Postgame Interview (Coach Weiner)
How It Happened
KSC twice took the match lead with 25-22 set wins – first in the opening frame, and then again in the third – but could not build on either advantage and it ended up costing them. The Owls raced out to a 9-0 lead in the second set looking to put the Raiders, who had swept KSC before in each team's season opener thanks to 16 aces but had only played six matches, away early and still led 16-6, but allowed an 18-4 run and were handed a bitter 1-1 match tie. Rivier hit -.065 in the set, yet still managed to erase a 10-point deficit. The home team rebounded, winning 25-22 in the fourth set and only facing one deficit (2-1) in the process. That time, the Owls built leads of 9-5 and later 16-8. Rivier again came storming back, getting within 18-17, but KSC fended them off this time around for a 2-1 match lead. Keene State had a chance to close out the Raiders in the fourth, and were hanging around despite a ragged offensive performance in the frame (.030 hitting, the low watermark of the evening), trailing just 16-15. However, they then surrendered the next seven and were forced to go the distance.
Neither team ever led by more than two in the deciding set. The Raiders took the first lead of that many when a kill from Sam Driend made it 6-4. KSC answered, tying the set at seven on an ace by Stake, and then later – after a timeout – proceeded to turn a 10-8 deficit into a 12-10 lead and only three more points to get after three errors by Rivier and a kill from
Jessica Timothy. Those points never came. After calling a timeout of their own, the Raiders got three kills from Driend and an ace and kill from Ali Rivera to end the evening on a 5-1 run and hand Keene State a loss in their second home match of the year. The Owls won consecutive matches in Springfield to improve to 2-1, but have since lost six of eight and have not won multiple matches in a row.
Stake had an impressive performance, hitting .389 while adding 12 digs and an ace. The 16 kills surpassed her career-high of 15 set last year at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in what turned out to be an important five-set win for KSC as part of an October surge.
The Owls will be hoping a memorable October is again on tap, as through the season's first 11 matches they are being outhit .200 to .108. They have hit .124 or lower in all but two matches thus far.
Timothy added 10 kills on 35 attempts for KSC, while
Veronica Kroha had seven kills and only one error on 10 swings and
Annaliese Rudberg four kills on nine tries (.333 pct.).
Four Owls had double-digit digs, paced by 15 from
Alexis Small (who added 24 assists).
Reagan Fleming had 13.
Sarah Bartels had 12 assists, six digs, and four aces, but KSC could not emerge with the final lead change in a match that had 13 of them to go along with 30 ties.
Rivier received 11 kills and .500 hitting from Lily Sills and 10 kills (on 41 swings) from Rivera. Driend, the Raiders' kills leader, and Brynn Roche combined for 18 kills (nine apiece) and only three errors. Rivier had 10 kills out of a possible 15 points in the fifth set, outhitting KSC in that frame .300 to. 250.
Service Aces
- Stake's .389 hitting percentage on the evening was higher than the .256 clip in the previous career game against UMD last year.
- KSC combined for 16 kills and 13 errors in the second and fourth sets. Otherwise, they had 30 kills and 15 errors.
- The Owls have lost four straight in the series and are now 15-16 against the Raiders, sporting an under .500 mark head-to-head against the in-state foe for the first time ever.
- Rivier wound up outhitting KSC .175 to .122.
Up Next
- Keene State opens conference play as part of a tri-match with Western Connecticut State University (5-4) on Saturday, September 23 at 12:00 p.m. Bates College (2-4) will also visit Spaulding Gymnasium and take on the Owls at 4:00 p.m. after their meeting with WCSU. The Wolves finished fourth in the conference last season.
- Rivier hosts Simmons University (3-6) and New England College (6-4) on the same day at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in a home GNAC tri-match that will be held at Collignon Gymnasium at Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua.
