KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Timothy (Haddam, Conn.) powered down a career-high 17 kills and hit .310 as the Keene State College women's volleyball team rebounded from a 1-0 match deficit to win the next three sets in a 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 26-24) Little East Conference victory over Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.  The Owls then ran their winning streak to three by sweeping Framingham State University 25-12, 27-25, 27-25 in their second match of the day.

Records

• Keene State:  7-9, 1-1 LEC
• Eastern Connecticut:  9-5, 2-1 LEC
• Framingham State:  11-5

Eastern Connecticut
Postgame Interview (Coach Weiner)
Postgame Interview (Jessica Timothy)
Framingham State
Postgame Interview (Coach Weiner)
Postgame Interview (Veronica Kroha)

How It Happened
A week after struggling to close out sets down the stretch in 3-0 tri-match losses to league opponent Western Connecticut State University and Bates College, the tables turned and the Owls did, winning six of seven sets on the day including closing out five of six that were decided by six points or less.  KSC dropped the opening set against Eastern Connecticut 25-20, falling into deficits of 6-2 and 11-5 right away before bouncing back to tie it at 12.  However, like last Saturday, then came a run from the opponent, as the Warriors hit back with five of the next six to regain a four-point edge they would never relinquish, with KSC never getting closer than three after that.  Unlike last Saturday, however, the Owls answered, figured things out, and ran off six consecutive set wins – three against ECSU to move to 1-1 in the conference and give the Warriors their first league loss.

It did not look good initially in the second set against Eastern either, who scored four of five to start and then broke away from a 4-4 tie to a 9-5 advantage.  KSC tied it at 11 and at 12 thereafter, but still trailed 14-12 on Brooke Praskievicz's ace and 17-16 after Sarah Bartels' service error.  The Warriors returned the favor with a serving miscue of their own, and Gigi Stake's ace then gave the Owls an 18-17 – their first of the set.  And after a KSC attacking error tied it once more, the home team dominated from there, pulling away with a 7-1 run to close the set, including a kill from Bartels that made it 22-19.

Keene State continued to own the late portions of sets in the third, which swung the match in their favor.  Again trailing early, this time 8-4 after three ECSU aces and later 12-5, another powerful run ensued following a timeout, as Stake's kill began a run of six in a row for the Owls to make it a one-point gap.  A service error by KSC was only a momentary hiccup, as another Stake ace tied it at 13 and kills from Timothy (two) and Molly Wetherbee highlighted another burst of six points in a row for Keene State that provided a 17-13 lead.  Overall, the 12-1 surge flipped a seven-point deficit into a four-point lead.  Back came Eastern, though, as they answered with four straight to forge another tie in the swing third set.  In a show of progress from seven days ago, KSC immediately hit back, with Wetherbee and Alexis Small stuffing Praskievicz at the net to retake the lead once more.  Two Timothy kills and Theresa Norris aces later, the Owls led 22-17.  Down 23-18 and 24-21, the Warriors got within one after two KSC errors, but Stake swung and put an end to the set, putting her team up 2-1 in the match.

The momentum from Keene State's consecutive set wins paid off early in the fourth, when the Owls ran off seven of the first eight and led 11-5 on another ace from Stake.  Timothy fired down two more kills in her impressive effort to make it 13-6 KSC, but it continued to be a back-and-forth match, with ECSU tallying nine of the next 11 including two consecutive aces from Sadie Blackwell that tied it at 15.  Eastern took their first lead at 18-17 on a kill by Paige Savitsky, but back came KSC with a Timothy kill and Norris ace for a 21-19 lead.  Just when it seemed the Owls might have weathered the run, a pair of errors (one serving and one setting) and two aces from Liz Squier had KSC, who needed a timeout, facing a rough set loss and a deciding fifth set.  It was not needed.  Veronica Kroha and Wetherbee came out swinging, tying it at 23.  Savitsky gave Eastern a set point opportunity with her kill, but the Owls' senior captain Kroha fired down a pair of kills from the middle for a 25-24 lead and forced a Warrior timeout.  Stephanie Olah wrapped up a much-needed win for KSC by firing down a pass from Regan Fleming, who had a match-high 23 digs.

Wetherbee finished with 10 kills and hit .350 for the Owls and Kroha eight kills (.167 pct.).  Small had 44 assists and 15 digs in an impressive double-double.

Bella Johnson paced Eastern with 11 spikes on a .308 attacking clip, while Savitsky had 10 kills (.391 pct.).  However, the Warriors' defense was progressively figured out by KSC, who after hitting .067 in the first set, hit .172, .250, and .286 in the ensuing three sets.  ECSU was well below .100 in the second and third sets that swung the match, but 16 aces – three on rotational errors – kept them in it.

Keene State and head coach Bob Weiner tried some different combinations in the day's second match, a 3-0 win over Framingham State, but nonetheless maintained momentum heading into October – a month they devoured a year ago en route to winning the Little East Conference tournament championship.  The Owls opened the non-league match with an emphatic 25-12 dismantling of the Rams in the first set, limiting them to a -.100 attacking percentage, and then got points at key times when they needed them from there to finish the sweep.  In the second, KSC fell into a 17-13 hole and despite coming back to take three different one-point leads, found themselves up against set point after FSU's Anna Szymanski swung for a kill.  Just like earlier in the day, though, the Owls refused to go down, as Olah tied it at 24 and then Stake gave KSC a 26-25 lead before Wetherbee – who Framingham had no answer for – put the home team up 2-0 in the match.

The Owls seemed dusted in the third set facing an 18-10 deficit that was still 20-12 after kills from Natalie Reynolds and Hailey Sanders, but instead ended the day with an uplifting surge, one that began with a 10-2 burst that tied it at 22, capped by kills from Timothy and Hegg.  Out of a Rams timeout, the visitors retook the lead, but an error followed by a kill from Jordyn Mik put KSC up 24-23, their first lead of the set.  Framingham twice fended off match point, but the Owls emphatically put an exclamation point on their day when Kroha blocked Szymanski for a 26-25 lead and Bartels, the team's later in aces, dialed one up.

Wetherbee finished with eight kills and no errors on 14 attempts, hitting .571.  Timothy had six kills and Kroha five (.625) without an error.  KSC made 13 miscues in the match, their second lowest total of the season, and hit .203.  FSU was limited to just an .063 clip.

Sanders finished with 10 spikes for the Rams on .364 attacking, but they suffered consecutive losses after entering the day 11-3, as ECSU won the day's middle match, 3-1.

Service Aces

• Bartels (34) and Small (28), both first years, have combined for 62 aces (of KSC's 123, 50 percent).
• Timothy has 34 kills over her last three matches and is hitting .284.  The Owls are 4-2 when she has double-digit kills, with the losses being in four and five sets.
• KSC has won four of five against Eastern at home, and since losing the first nine meetings after joining Division III is 18-11 in the series.  The Owls have won six of eight all-time against Framingham.

Up Next

• The Owls visit Vermont State University Castleton (4-7, 0-2 LEC) on Wednesday, October 4 for a 7:00 p.m. start.  The Spartans have lost five straight and were swept by Western Connecticut State University 25-8, 25-10, 25-19 today in Danbury.
• Eastern Connecticut hosts Trinity College (Conn.) (8-4, 2-2 NESCAC) on Tuesday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m.
• Framingham State visits Mitchell College (5-8, 3-4 GNAC) on Wednesday at 7:00 for a non-conference match.