BOSTON, Mass. – For a long time, it seemed the Keene State College women's volleyball team was on their way to ending a 17-year hex at the Clark Athletic Center.  It seemed they were on their way to a pair of huge Little East Conference road victories as the regular season heads toward its home stretch.  The University of Massachusetts-Boston, again, had other ideas, beating the Owls on their home court in five sets after erasing 1-0 and 2-1 match deficits.

KSC (7-11, 1-3 LEC) also had leads of 3-0, 5-3, and 10-9 in the decisive fifth set, but the Beacons (10-9, 3-0 LEC) got two straight kills from Addie Blomgren to break an 11-11 tie and wound up scoring four of the final five points to move above .500.  For the Owls, after losing to Eastern Connecticut State University in five and two-time defending champion University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in four sets at home, it was shaping up to perhaps be a season-altering week by beating two conference contenders after KSC gave Plymouth State University their first conference loss and ended their 10-match winning streak on Wednesday.  However, with two chances to take command or win the match, the Owls could not get their offense going.  After taking a 1-0 lead with a 25-18 win in the first set, KSC hit just .077 (nine kills, six errors) in the second as the Beacons responded with a win by the same score. 

The Owls hit back with a two-point win in the third set, foiling UMB's comeback from 18-13 down after they tied the set three times and nearly a fourth after trailing 24-21 – but a bad set gave KSC the match lead again.  The Owls never got their footing in the fourth, another 25-18 loss, as they hit a match-low .069 (seven kills, five errors) while the Beacons racked up 14 kills.  In the two sets UMB lost, they combined for 24 kills and 15 errors.  KSC could consistently slow the Beacons, however, as they totaled 35 kills to just 11 miscues in their three set victories including nine kills to just two errors in the fifth.

Much like against Eastern in the five-set loss in September, the Owls got off to the right start in the final set, taking a 3-0 lead and eventually going back in front 5-3 on kills by Gigi Stake and Colleen Fraser.  UMass-Boston forced an Owl timeout in the midst of a 5-0 run to go in front by three, but KSC rallied for a 10-9 lead on a kill by Alexis Small, block by Annaliese Rudberg and Small, and an ace by Ava Harkins to force the Beacons into a stoppage.

A pair of kills put the home team back in front, but Marina Miller swung for one of her own to make it 11-11 late.  KSC would score just once more, though, a kill by Stake that made it 14-12 before an Owl attacking error gave UMB the clinching point.

"We had an opportunity to win, we came out strong in the first set but then slowed down as the game went on," said KSC head coach Jake Girard.  "We couldn't let go of the mistakes.  I would have liked to have seen us compete defensively more.  We missed too many serves – six aces to 14 missed, can't win like that."

The Owls have not won at the Clark Athletic Center since their 2008 Little East championship-winning season, losing in their last 17 trips – though this just the third in five sets.  KSC led 1-0 and 2-1 in sets in the Little East Conference semifinals in 2021, and 13-12 in the fifth set, but could not hold on.

Today, the Beacons outhit the Owls .182 to .140, led by Paige Coulson's 17 kills.  Lauren Westlund added 14 and Mary Denny 11.

Fraser led KSC with 11 kills on a .235 percentage – her third straight double-digit effort, and Stake added 10 on .175 hitting.  Small had 22 assists, 10 digs, and two aces, while Delia Ryan had 20 digs.  Mary Matthews dug 27 for the Beacons, who were plus-13 (88-75) in that category.

The Owls have a week all at home coming up, beginning with a non-conference matchup against Curry College (5-11, 0-4 CNE) on Wednesday (October 15) at 6:00 p.m.  KSC hosts the University of Southern Maine and Regis College (Mass.) for Senior Day on Saturday.