NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. –
Sarah Bartels saved her best for last, but it was not
quite enough for the Keene State College women's volleyball team, who fell in a five-set heartbreaker to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in the Little East Conference tournament semifinals on Thursday night at the Tripp Athletic Center. KSC dropped the first two sets 25-23 and 25-20 before bouncing back for consecutive 25-21 victories in the third and fourth frames to force a deciding set. The Corsairs had one final push in the fifth set, scoring six of the final seven points to win 15-12 and advance to the championship for the fourth straight year.
The Owl senior from Fort Collins, Colo. had a memorable performance in what turned into a nail-biting semifinal, firing down a match and career-high 18 kills while hitting .378. She compiled 12 kills over the final three sets including nine across the third and fourth as the Owls (18-10) rallied from two sets down to force a fifth for the second time this season against UMass-Dartmouth (16-7). Unfortunately, for KSC, it was an unwanted repeat, as they also lost in five on the road in September – which partially forced them on the road beyond the tournament quarterfinals.
The Owls could not slow down Olivia Seutter, UMD's clearcut offensive leader, early, as she racked up nine kills and made just one error over the opening two sets to help her team out to a match lead. Seutter had perhaps the most important kill of the first set, retying the frame at 23-23 after KSC erased deficits of 12-6, 16-10, and 19-13. The Owls stormed back from the final of the six-point deficits with a 6-1 burst and subsequently took their first lead at 23-22 after a kill by Dottin and two
Alexis Small aces. But KSC could not lock up what would have been a stunning set win to put the home team behind.
Two critical runs of four straight points in the second set helped UMass-Dartmouth gain the needed separation to go up 2-0, as the home team flipped a 15-13 deficit after kills by
Reece Connors and
Bella Bacon into a 17-15 lead culminating with a Skye Peters ace. Seutter then put down a pair of points to make it 19-16, and a service error after KSC got within one proved to be costly. Maddie Carter then put down two straight unassisted kills and Seutter served an ace to bring up set point at 24-19, and the Owls ultimately did not have a kill after Bartels got them within 20-19.
It was KSC that made all the plays late in the next two sets. In the third, a pair of service errors helped the Corsairs get within two twice late, the last of which at 21-19, but Dottin stuffed Seutter to help the Owls put up three in a row to go up five. An error and a UMD block kept them alive temporarily, but Bartels forced a fourth with a kill.
It was not looking good early in the fourth for the Owls, who allowed the first five points (three on aces) and trailed 9-4. But as they have done in their surge to a season-high nine games over .500, KSC responded, ripping off nine of the next 13 points to tie it at 13 and eventually took their first lead at 16-15 on an ace by Small. Two more aces by Bacon after a Bartels kill pushed the Owls in front by three (19-16), and Bracken continued to flummox UMD at the service line as she tied up Allison Pate for another to make it 21-17. The home team twice got within one to put game, and season, pressure on KSC – but a Miller spike and ace authored a big response and Connors, who had eight kills and hit .286 while adding two solo blocks and three block assists, moved the Owls a set away from the conference final in a race to 15.
KSC scored three straight in the fifth, culminating with another ace (this one by
Ava Harkins) to take a 7-5 lead the drama heightened. The Owls led three more times by two, including at 9-7 after Connors and
Colleen Fraser blocked Pate. Fraser then fired down a kill to make it 10-8, and KSC was up 11-9 following a block by she and Dottin – but the Corsairs had one final push that the Owls will rue. Seutter, after seeing her effectiveness wane as the sets went on, sprung to life, accounting for four kills in a six-point span to help her team move within a point of the finals at 14-12 (including two straight after it was 12-12). Norah Schweitzer and Carter then blocked Bartels – which nobody on the Corsairs could do all night – to end it.
The two teams played 10 combined sets in the two meetings this season and the aggregate point total saw the two sides separated by just 11 points. Tonight's match featured a whopping 34 ties and 16 lead changes.
KSC racked up 16 aces as a team, though UMD had 14 themselves and the Owls also had 12 service miscues. The Owls dominated at the net, racking up a 15-7 advantage in total blocks, but were outhit .205 to .178. The Corsairs had 12 kills and hit .375 in the fifth set after a 21 kill, 14 error effort across the two previous sets.
"What happened, happened…we couldn't close at the end of the sets and gave too many points away," said Owls head coach Jake Girard. "We did not stick to the game plan in the beginning and were out of position multiple times and missed assignments."
"However, we turned that around and started getting it done in the third and fourth," he added. "Even in the fifth we played great. But we missed the serve at 11-9 and could not get the ball back. 6-1 run and it was game over."
Bacon finished with 15 digs, eight kills, and four aces, while Bracken had 18 digs and two aces. Small finished with 20 assists and six aces, finishing with 208 in her career to finish fourth on KSC's all-time career list in that category. Harkins added 17 assists and seven digs.
The Owls lead the all-time series 21-13 but have lost five straight. They were looking to reach the LEC championship game for the tenth time.
Regardless, KSC hopes it is the beginning of a foundation-creating season, with seven of the 10 that saw action tonight including Dottin, Bacon, and Bracken as first years, slated to return next year. Their 18 wins were the most since 2019.
"We worked hard…we have some young talent that now knows what it is like to play in a high-level match and I'm excited for the future of Keene volleyball," said Girard.
"The senior class will be greatly missed – Sarah, Colleen, Lexi, Becca, Lauren, and Ashley. Thank you for everything. You have set the standard of what it means to be a Keene State Owl. You were terrific."
