FITCHBURG, Mass. – First years
Aiya Dottin,
Jess Sibenik, and
Claire Jorgensen combined for 18 kills against just two errors on 25 total swings as the Keene State College women's volleyball team picked apart Fitchburg State University on Thursday night, rolling to a 25-14, 25-18, 25-12 sweep of the Falcons in non-conference action at Parkinson Gymnasium.
The Owls (16-9) had no trouble and avoided any letdown against a struggling Fitchburg (3-17) team that has one home win and no conference wins heading into their season finale at MASCAC-leading Bridgewater State University on Saturday. KSC, meanwhile, has a home playoff game locked up on Tuesday and will clinch the No. 3 seed with a win over Western Connecticut State University on Saturday or a Plymouth State University loss to LEC regular season champion University of Massachusetts-Boston. Should the Owls finish third, they would likely play either Rhode Island College or Vermont State University Castleton, who play each other on Saturday. Eastern Connecticut State University is guaranteed the No. 5 seed regardless of results, as is KSC a home playoff game either way.
Keene State improved to 10-2 in their last 12 matches tonight, making all the plays and runs when they needed to. In the opening set, the Owls separated from a 10-8 lead by scoring four straight (two on kills by
Marina Miller and one from
Bella Bacon) and eventually widened their advantage to 19-11. Up 22-14, KSC closed the frame and took the match lead by scoring the final three.
The Owls ripped off five in a row to begin the second as they looked to take command quickly. It did not happen quite as quickly as they wanted, with the Falcons rallying for a 7-7 tie, but KSC scored five in a row to surge back in front and later gained separation again when Dottin fired down a kill, Bacon served an ace, and
Claire Jorgensen authored a point to make it 18-13. After a service miscue, the Owls tallied four more in a row and ultimately moved along steadily to a 25-18 win to put Fitchburg in a two-set hole.
The home team's chances fizzled quickly in the third, as KSC expanded an 8-5 lead to eight with a 7-2 burst highlighted by an
Alexis Small ace – with the Owl senior now just one away from 200 for her career. Jorgensen and Dottin followed with a block after a Fitchburg timeout, and KSC never relented, posting five more in a row on two Jorgensen kills and two
Bella Bacon aces to take a 20-8 lead. The Falcons scored just four more times in the match, and were ultimately outscored by 31 points in the three-set defeat, hitting -.026 (19 kills, 21 errors).
"We started out slow with passing but then we had some awesome passes from Marina, Bella, Delia, and
Lauren Bender," said Owls head coach Jake Girard. "The good passing let our setter run a great offense. Lexi and Ava and Liv spread the ball well and let all our offense get in on the action."
KSC racked up 36 kills to just 10 errors as a team offensively, hitting .347. The Owls also had 10 aces. Eighteen different plays found the court for KSC.
Fitchburg was led by Samantha Azzari's six kills on a .250 hitting clip.
Keene State will aim to snap a four-match losing streak to WestConn (5-18, 1-6 LEC) on Saturday (November 7) in the regular season finale, slated for a 1:00 p.m. start.
