SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Keene State College women's volleyball team committed an attacking error on three of the final four points in the deciding fifth set as they fell to Mount Holyoke College 3-2 (25-17, 21-25, 22-25, 25-12, 11-15) in non-conference action at Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
KSC (3-3) led only one time in the final frame but scored four straight points after trailing 11-6 to make it a fight to the finish – but it was the Owls' finish that was missing most of the day as they came up short. Keene State compiled just five kills and made seven attacking errors in the fifth set after thoroughly dominating the fourth 25-12, powering down 14 kills and hitting .300. The other four sets? KSC made 28 attacking errors (seven per set) including connecting at a .026 clip in the second frame after the Owls had opened the day with a comfortable 25-17 win in the first, separating with an early 8-1 burst that ballooned a 7-6 lead to 15-7. The Lyons (4-1), who made the NEWMAC tournament for the first time since 2017 a season ago before falling to No. 2 seed Babson College in four sets, responded, bolting out to an 11-3 lead in the second. KSC hit back with an 11-2 run of their own, taking their first lead at 14-13 following kills by
Bella Bacon and
Sarah Bartels, but the Lyons tallied six of the next eight and never trailed again.
In a pair of set defeats in the second and third to fall behind in the match, the Owls were outscored 6-2 down the stretch after getting within 19-18 as MHC tied the match at one and 7-1 in a crucial stretch in the third as the hosts flipped a 15-14 deficit into a 21-16 lead. Keene State chipped it back to 23-22 on consecutive spikes by Bartels, but a service error and kill by Ellie Molina gave Mount Holyoke a 2-1 match lead.
The Owls eviscerated the Lyons in an overpowering fourth, outscoring the hosts 10-1 over the final 11 points to turn a 15-11 edge into a runaway win with Worcester State University transfer
Reece Connors firing down three kills in that span alone to keep KSC alive. She finished with seven kills on 10 total swings and made just one error in her second match of the season on a day where the two teams combined for 70 attacking errors (Mount Holyoke had 40).
But in a match where momentum meant nothing, that was again proven in the fifth set, as KSC called two timeouts while falling into a 9-5 deficit. It seemed the Owls were rallying after a kill by Elanni Romero and an ace by Eliza Vest put them in an 11-6 hole, as Connors put down another kill and the Lyons misfired on three straight points to make it 11-10, but Olivia Murray and two attacking errors put KSC in a deep hole from which they never recovered.
The loss snaps a string of 10 consecutive wins against Mount Holyoke for the Owls, who swept the Lyons on Halloween at Spaulding Gymnasium last season, outhitting them .171 to .033. KSC had a .123 to .051 attacking edge today, but it was not enough.
"We did not have enough offensive production," said Owls head coach Jake Girard. "51 kills and 30 errors…just gave away too many points. We had played awesome in the first and fourth sets where we sided out, but they put pressure on us from the service line and we just were not able to produce in the other sets. They played great defense and blocked well."
Bartels (.120 pct.) and Miller (.139 pct., nine kills, four errors) paced the Owls with nine kills with
Colleen Fraser and Bacon adding eight. Connors added two digs to her efficient afternoon. Miller added 23 digs and
Delia Ryan had 22 while
Alexis Small and
Ava Harkins each had 21 assists.
"We have to find ways to make more kills and less errors," added Girard. "We have been pretty good at it this year…hopefully we can learn and move on. It was a very impressive job from
Reece Connors coming in the fourth and fifth to hit .600."
Vest led Mount Holyoke with 15 kills, though she also made nine errors (.115 pct.). Molina added 13 kills but hit a sub-zero percentage. Melina Cudiamat had 40 assists and 20 digs for the hosts.
Keene State travels to face Rivier University (2-4) on Wednesday, September 16 for a 6:00 p.m. start.
