NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Keene State College women's volleyball team hit an impressive .308 in the third and fourth sets to rally from a 2-0 deficit in an important Little East Conference road match on Friday night. But the fifth set will leave a sour taste in the Owls' mouths, as they committed a combined ten attacking, service, and reception errors as the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth escaped with a 3-2 (25-20, 25-14, 20-25, 19-25, 15-11) win over KSC at the Tripp Athletic Center.
Much like in their most recent tilt – a five-set defeat at Bridgewater State University on Monday – the Owls (6-7, 1-1 LEC) struggled in the opening two frames including hitting sub-zero in an ugly second before rebounding with two impressive sets, including a third that saw them rack up 17 kills to just two errors while swinging at a .429 clip.
But it was ultimately KSC's miscues late that helped UMass-Dartmouth (8-6, 1-0 LEC) win their conference opener. The Corsairs had only four kills in the deciding set, two of which came in the first four points as UMD opened an early 3-1 lead. An ace by Allison Pate was one of three for the home team in the fifth set, and KSC also hurt their cause by committing service errors on two different chances to tie it – the last of which coming after a kill by
Colleen Fraser made it 7-6. The Owls got within 10-8 on a spike by
Sarah Bartels, but another service error put the Corsairs up three.
Aiya Dottin fired down one of her team-high 12 kills (on .320 hitting) as KSC put up two straight to get within one at 11-10, but a kill by Olivia Seutter, attacking error by the Owls, and a Brooke Harrington ace put the Owls in a deep hole. Bartels kept the set alive once, but Fraser's set was errant on the ensuing point as UMD won their fourth straight in the series after losing 18 of the previous 19 head-to-head meetings.
Once the Owls iron out their consistency – with two first years again leading their offense – there appear to be plenty of reasons for immense optimism. Dottin has accounted for 84 kills and hit .300 in her first 13 collegiate matches (including 30 kills to just five errors in her last three) while classmate
Bella Bacon has 45 kills in the last four matches – three times reaching double-digits including recording 20 in the Owls' conference-opening victory at Eastern Connecticut State University last weekend. Bacon had 10 kills and 14 digs tonight, while
Shaunah Bracken – another rookie – had 11 digs, the second most on the team.
Lauren Bender recorded a season-high 12 in a strong effort, also adding five kills.
Reece Connors finished with eight to go along with four of the Owls' 13 aces, one shy of a team season-high.
UMass-Dartmouth was paced by Seutter, who put up 23 kills on 52 total swings, hitting .308. Pate had 11 kills (.159 pct.), with the duo combining for nearly 61 percent of the Corsairs' offense. Harrington had 25 digs and Skye Peters 40 assists. In a match with a razor-thin margin, UMD had 12 aces to just five service errors while the Owls had 13 and 12, respectively.
KSC fell into big deficits in each of the first two sets, trailing 16-6 in the first after three consecutive aces by Peters. Another by Ella Soutter made it 20-9 before the Owls threw a scare into the Corsairs, using an 11-3 burst to get within three. But Peters and Pate swings closed the set from there, and the home team again took a quick lead in the second, scoring eight of the first 10. KSC responded earlier, getting within 9-7 on an ace by Connors, but then surrendered 10 of the next 11 to fall behind 19-8 and never recovered.
The tenor of the match changed in a hurry, as Connors and Fraser found the ground to open a 9-6 lead in the third. UMass-Dartmouth drew level once by scoring three in a row, but KSC hit back with an 8-2 run culminating with kills by Dottin and Bacon along with two aces by Bender to make it 17-11. The Owls led by as many as eight (21-13) and did not have trouble closing out the frame from there, with Dottin swinging for a kill to get KSC within 2-1 in the match thanks to a 25-20 victory.
Trailing 8-7, the Owls emerged from a see-saw battle in the fourth to send their fourth consecutive match to the distance. A kill by Maddie Carter gave the Corsairs an 8-7 lead, but KSC seemed to regain control by going up 12-9 on an ace by
Alexis Small and later 18-11 after rattling off six straight. UMD never led again, but made it scary, twice getting within one, but the Owls had a closing push, scoring six of seven to close out a big 25-19 set win. Connors had two kills, three others had one, and
Ava Harkins had an ace in the uprising.
"We were a little slow off the bus but made some changes and flipped from a 5/1 to a 6/2 to take the third and fourth with some authority," said KSC head coach Jake Girard, a graduate of UMass-Dartmouth. "But in the fifth we missed two many serves and did not pass well to win the race to 15. We got great work from
Sarah Bartels and
Lauren Bender to come in the third and play great."
Despite a 6-4 edge in kills in the fifth, KSC fell to 4-7 in matches that go five over the past two seasons.
Keene State returns home for a pair of crucial Little East Conference matches, welcoming Plymouth State University on Wednesday (October 7) for a 6:00 p.m. start and the University of Massachusetts-Boston on Saturday, October 10 at 1:00 p.m.
