KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College women's volleyball team fought back from five points down midway through the fourth set to force a deciding final frame, but then could not hold leads of 5-1 and 8-5 as they fell to Eastern Connecticut State University in a tight 3-2 Little East Conference match on Friday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Postgame Interview (Coach Girard)...coming soon

The Owls (5-9, 0-1 LEC) took the opening set 25-20 but then scored just seven more points after leading 3-1 early in the second.  ECSU (9-3, 1-0 LEC) took a match lead by rallying from a 16-13 deficit for a 25-20 set win in the third, but KSC answered back by erasing a 13-8 deficit in the fourth and finishing on a 4-1 push after trailing 22-21 to force a deciding fifth set.

Consecutive kills by Colleen Fraser helped the Owls open a 5-1 lead in the fifth, forcing the Warriors to burn an early timeout, and it seemed KSC still had momentum after they scored consecutive points to make it 8-5 when the teams switched sides.  However, miscues kept Eastern right there, as the Owls served into the net with a chance to go up four, and then a service error and attacking error on consecutive points tied it at nine.  Sarah Bartels fired down a kill out of a KSC timeout to give the home team a 10-9 edge again, and it was 12-11 Owls after spikes from Bartels and Gigi Stake, but another service miscue tied it and gave the Warriors the ball back.  Stake was blocked by Allegra Copeland to force KSC's second timeout of the set, and Brooke Praskievicz recorded a critical ace right after the stoppage to bring up match point.  Copeland's ball that went well long kept the Owls alive with a chance to force extra points, but Emma Robinson – who matched Copeland with a team-high 13 kills – gave Eastern the win in a match that featured 35 ties and 18 lead changes.

KSC has lost six of eight in the series, though their loss at home tonight ended a two-game winning streak at Spaulding Gymnasium over ECSU.  The Owls' home court has not been friendly confines for them thus far in 2025, having absorbed a five-set loss to Bridgewater State University after twice leading in the match and a four-set loss to Rivier University who they had previously beaten in the season opener.  The Owls have not won consecutive sets at home, where they are 6-6 at home since the start of last season.

Both teams attacked at a .139 clip on the evening, but stats on the margins did not favor KSC, who was minus-7 (12-5) in aces and minus-14 in digs (85-71).  Addison Soleau also accounted for seven of the Warriors' 10 total blocks.  Praskievicz had a match-high 25 digs for the visitors.

Stake led the Owls with 13 kills, hitting .091.  Marina Miller finished with nine kills to just two errors on a .219 attacking clip.  Bartels (.115 pct.) also had nine kills while Fraser (.121 pct.) had seven.  Delia Ryan finished with 20 digs and Miller 15.

The Owls visit Simmons University (2-10, 1-2 GNAC) in Boston on Tuesday, September 30 for a 7:00 p.m. start before another Friday night home conference match against the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on October 3.  Simmons, who went 15-14 a season ago including 12-3 in the GNAC, is 0-3 at home.