KEENE, N.H. – Junior Gigi Stake and sophomore Marina Miller combined for 26 kills and 15 digs, but the Keene State College women's volleyball team was unable to carry over momentum from a dramatic comeback in the second set, eventually falling to Clark University 3-1 (26-28, 28-26, 11-25, 19-25) in non-conference action Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Postgame Interview (Jake Girard)

Stake was subbed in with KSC (4-3) trailing 15-5 in the second, and the Bedford, N.H. product proved to be a spark, tallying five kills and a block over the remainder of the set as the Owls stormed back from deficits of 11-1 and 19-7, scoring five straight points to keep themselves in contention after being pushed to the brink at 24-19.  It was Stake that forged the first tie of the entire set at 24 with a spike after a Cougars (4-3) timeout, and she gave the Owls two separate leads just a few rallies later.  KSC cashed in the second one, as after Stake made it 27-26, Winifred Gakidis' ball was wide and polished off an improbable set win.  Clark had only four kills after leading 16-6.
Seemingly firmly on their heels, the Cougars fought back immediately and with authority, scoring 12 of the opening 14 points in the third and never looking back.  The visitors' advantage grew to 17-3 following four consecutive kills and a KSC attack error, and Clark overall hit .452 in the set to reclaim the match lead, compiling 16 kills on 31 swings.  After 28 combined kills in the first two sets, the Owls managed only four and hit -.032 to fall down 2-1 in the match.

It was another massive Clark surge that spelled the end for KSC on the evening, as the Cougars got the ball back following an Owl service error and ran away from there, flipping a 14-13 deficit into a six-point lead with a 7-0 burst.  The run eventually widened to 11-2 after three kills and a stuff to bring up match point at 24-15.  Keene State staved off the end four times, including getting an ace by first year Delia Ryan and the 12th and 13th kills for Stake, but Clark kills leader Isabella Alcott ended the match with her 16th kill to lead all players.  She also hit an eye-popping .394, and the Cougars connected on a .224 clip as a team with 62 kills.  KSC had a hard time finding floors, particularly late, as Clark racked up 85 digs as a team, paced by Sophia Scherrer del Llano.

The Cougars were paced by 16 kills by Alcott, while Victoria Pastor racked up a 15 kill, 14 dig double-double and Camille Sterling finished with 13 kills and hit .550.
Miller, who also had 13 kills for the Owls to join Stake, helped get KSC off on the right foot in the first as they led by three on multiple occasions.  It was still 14-11 after a Clark miscue, but the Owls could not shake free, as they subsequently allowed seven straight to fall behind by four.  Late, both teams had golden chances to snag the opening set.  It was first the Cougars who had set point at 24-21 following a del Llano kill, but not only did they not get set point, they allowed three straight, called a timeout, and were then up against set point after an Annaliese Rudberg kill put KSC in front 25-24.  The Owls could not close it out though, foiling any early momentum as Clark scored four of the final five including a kill by Pastor and ace by Alcott to steal a win.

Theresa Norris paced KSC with 17 digs while Alexis Small added 30 assists and 12 digs.

The Owls are back in action this Saturday when they travel to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute to take on the host Engineers (2-2) at 11:00 a.m. and Western New England University at 1:00 p.m.