LEWISTON, Maine – Bates College and the University of New England combined to hit .294, racking up 79 kills on 190 total attempts, as they each posted 3-0 sweeps of the Keene State College women's volleyball team on Saturday at Alumni Gymnasium.

KSC fell to the host Bobcats 25-17, 25-15, 25-14 and then to the Nor'easters – who wound up going 2-0 at the tri-match after beating Bates in five – 25-23, 25-23, 25-22.
The Owls will rue the loss to UNE particularly, as they held a 20-15 lead in the first set and could not hold on before falling in the second despite trimming a 19-13 deficit to just one at 24-23.  KSC led for the vast majority of the third set also until the Nor'easters broke a 19-19 tie thanks to consecutive kills by Kendall Gallaugher to force an Owl timeout, and UNE never trailed again.

Keene State has been unable to limit opponents' offenses through the season's early stages, allowing them to hit .200 or better in four of six matches.  The Owls have been outhit .199 to .095 overall in their six matches and are minus-27 in digs and minus-30 in total blocks.  KSC had only one block on the day, a solo stuff by freshman Katie Taylor in the third set against UNE.  The Nor'easters had four blocks in the first frame alone, including three in their rally from 19-12 down to tie it at 21.  KSC pushed in front 22-21 on a kill by Sarah Bartels, but a kill and an ace then gave UNE their first lead since they scored the first point of the match.  Gigi Stake responded with a kill after a timeout, but spikes by Ellijah Hanley and Kailyn Reilly gave the Nor'easters the opening set – and ultimately momentum for the day.

An 8-3 surge for UNE to bump an 11-10 lead to six in the second ultimately proved to be too much for KSC to overcome despite a furious comeback attempt that included three kills by Katie Taylor, including consecutive spikes that made it 23-21.  Gallaugher answered to bring up set point for the Nor'easters, but a swing by Stake and a Delia Ryan ace forced a timeout for UNE at 24-23.  KSC was unable to force extra points and faced a 2-0 match hole after Hanley's kill ended their rally.

Much like the first, the Owls led for much of the third, including 10-4 early and 18-14 in the later stages – but they could not hold on.  UNE used a 9-1 run to flip that four-point deficit into their own four-point lead and they did not have any trouble from there, holding KSC without a kill for the final 16 points after a swing by Stake gave the Owls a 17-14 lead.

Taylor finished with eight kills and hit .375 to pace KSC while Bartels had six kills and hit .222.  Colleen Fraser added five on .176 hitting, while Alexis Small added team-highs of 17 assists and nine digs.  Hanley led UNE with 14 kills and hit .333 and Gallaugher added seven kills on only 12 total attempts.

KSC was also beaten in straight sets by Bates for the second straight year in the day's first match as the Bobcats scored 10 of the final 13 points in the opening set to expand what was a 15-14 lead and then did the same in the second when they had a 15-12 advantage.  In a deep hole, the Owls were forced to call a timeout 18 points into the third down 13-5 and they never recovered, trailing by as many as 13 down the stretch.

Gigi Stake (five kills, .130 pct.) and Colleen Fraser (five kills, .100 pct.) led the Owls in kills while middles Annaliese Rudberg and Taylor combined for 6 kills on 15 attempts.  KSC was outhit .340 to .060, the fourth time in six matches this season they attacked at a lower than .100 clip.  Alexis Small had eight digs and Ava Harkins had nine assists.  Senior outside hitter and Hawaii native Ami Evans fired down eight kills to just one miscue, hitting .583 for Bates.  Anais Reneaum had six kills on nine tries, hitting .556.

"Bates is a strong team in the NESCAC.  Yes they beat us 3-0, but I can't really complain about how we played," said KSC head coach Jake Girard.  "Colleen hitting on the right was good for us and Rud in the middle.  Their power and tough serving got the better of us at the end of the sets.  UNE had some good outside hitting but we had a strong presence in the middle with Katie hitting .492 and Colleen on the right hitting .267.  We were close in every set and even-up in the first one, but could not hold the lead and close out a set.  Sometimes those last points are the hardest ones to get."

The Owls have lost four straight against the Bobcats since opening the all-time series with a win, including dropping nine of 10 sets the last three years in three defeats.  UNE improved to 3-5 all-time against the Owls.  KSC will look to turn things in the right direction on Tuesday (September 9) when they visit Nichols College (2-4) for a 7:00 p.m. start.  The Owls have dropped eight consecutive sets since taking a 2-1 match lead against Bridgewater State University in their home opening loss this past Tuesday.