SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Keene State College women's volleyball team got a combined 23 kills against just six errors from
Colleen Fraser and
Marina Miller while winning the attacking percentage battle by nearly 90 points, but the 14 service errors and 10 opposing aces proved to be all the difference as the Owls dropped a tight four-set match against Skidmore College (25-21, 16-25, 25-20, 25-23) on Friday night at Dana Gymnasium on the campus of Springfield College.
The Owls (1-1) got off to a slow start on the service line, making eight serving errors in the opening set as they fell behind early and never recovered. Three of the service miscues were within the first 11 points, the last of which put the Thoroughbreds (2-0) ahead 7-4. KSC got an ace by Miller to get within one at 8-7 but never tied it as Skidmore scored five of the next six points to take a five-point lead. The Owls could not get closer than three (24-21) after that, allowing the Thoroughbreds to hit .261 in the opening frame.
KSC hit back in a big way to level the match, outhitting Skidmore .229 to .000 in the second as Fraser and
Sarah Bartels combined for seven kills. The Owls scored five of the first six to play from in front but later trailed 12-11. Tied at 15, Keene State broke away from there in a big way, scoring 10 of the final 11 points including the final seven on three kills, an ace, and a block.
The tenor of the match changed drastically midway through the third of a tied match, as KSC could not finish off a strong start. Two kills in a three-point span by
Katie Taylor opened an 8-3 advantage early for the Owls, and it was still 13-8 after
Alexis Small set up Fraser for a kill. Skidmore ran off seven in a row to take their first lead of the frame since it was 1-0 and KSC never recovered. An attacking error by the Thoroughbreds brought the Owls within 18-16, but a critical run of three straight points pushed the deficit back to five and KSC eventually fell 25-20, registering just one kill after it was 17-15.
If Keene State was hurt early by service mistakes, it was a 14-kill, five-ace set in the fourth for Skidmore that helped the Saratoga Springs, New York-based program close out a hard-fought match. An ace by Marlowe McIntyre put the Owls in a 7-2 hole right away and another by Phoebe Yang made it 10-5, but two kills by
Bella Bacon and an ace by
Amanda Barry helped spur a 7-0 burst as KSC sprinted in front 12-10 looking to force a fifth and deciding set. Neither team led by two after that until consecutive Owl miscues put Skidmore up 20-17. KSC twice got within one late, making it 23-22 on a block by Fraser and then 24-23 on a Thoroughbreds serving miscue, but Katy O'Connell – who had just seven kills and five errors – ended it with a kill.
Natalie Pederson paced Skidmore with 13 kills and hit .158, while Chloe Heitman had 11 kills and five errors, hitting .182.
KSC's offense was going on the night, hitting .200 (40 kills, 17 errors), with Fraser's 13 kills and two blocks leading the way. Miller had a 10-kill, 11-dig double-double. Bartels finished with eight kills (.375) while Bacon had seven kills and a team-high 14 digs.
The Owls had a 5-2 edge in blocks, were even in assists with 42, and were minus-three (63-60) in digs, with the service line ultimately becoming the deciding factor.
"It was a really good team on the other side of the net tonight," said KSC head coach Jake Girard. "It was nice to be challenged, and it was also nice to show that we could keep up with them. We were a little slow in set one, but we bounced back to win the second set and had a close third set and an even closer fourth."
"Our right sides (
Colleen Fraser and
Sarah Bartels) killed it, both hitting over .300," he added. "Even as a team we outhit them and hit .200, but we gave away 14 points from missed serves. It is hard to win like that."
The Owls continue the Springfield Invitational tomorrow when they take on the host Pride at 10:30 a.m. in Blake Arena and Westfield State University at 1:30 p.m. in Dana Gymnasium.
