SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Although the record may not yet show it, it was a weekend of growth and learning for the Keene State College women's volleyball team. Melding a strong and large group of newcomers into an emerging group of upperclass leaders, there is a sense head coach Jake Girard and this year's group of Owls will like what the recipe looks like as the season goes on. Senior
Sarah Bartels finished the weekend with 20 kills and made just four errors in three matches while
Marina Miller finished with 27 spikes against 11 miscues to go along with 22 digs in an All-Tournament effort as KSC split a pair of Saturday matches, falling to perennial regional contender Springfield College 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 16-25, 18-25) before rebounding to blow past Westfield State University in a straight sets 25-19, 25-12, 25-13 victory to close the three-match weekend invitational hosted at Blake Arena and Dana Gymnasium on the campus of Springfield.
KSC (2-2) took the opening set from the Pride, who went unbeaten on the weekend, with an impressive .318 attacking effort and led 8-3 early in the second, but the hosts used a 7-2 burst to flip a 14-12 deficit into a three-point lead in the later stages of the frame. The Owls battled back, tying it at 20, but Zakya Hiatt fired down three straight kills to put her team back in control and back-to-back stuffs helped the Pride even the match.
Keene State battled back from an early 7-3 hole in the third to get within one on three different occasions, the last of which at 17-16 after a kill by
Bella Bacon and an ace by
Ava Harkins, but Springfield ran off eight straight points on three kills, an ace, two blocks, and two KSC attacking miscues to take a 2-1 match lead.
After the impressive offensive effort in the opening set, the Owls' offense was slowed from there, as they hit just .091 in the second set and were sub-zero in the third despite battling to the finish. It could not get on track in the fourth (six kills, six errors) either, but after Springfield spread a three-point advantage to eight at 19-11, KSC clawed back behind an
Alexis Small serving run to twice get back within three. Miller's swing found the ground to make it 21-18 late in the fourth, but a service error gave Springfield a big point and the ball back, and KSC saw the Pride score the final four points to avoid a fifth and deciding set.
Springfield's 16-kill second set helped get the home team on track after the Owls' early fireworks, and KSC ultimately hit only .070 (29 kills, 21 errors) in the day's opener.
Miller finished with seven kills and four digs while Bartels had six kills against just one error, hitting .357. Springfield limited
Colleen Fraser to just four kills and four miscues.
The Owls could not contain Jodi Saelua, who led the Pride with 12 kills on 21 total swings (.521 pct.). Hiatt also hit .240 and had 12 kills, with the pair combining for over 53 percent of the home team's offense. Setter Tori Colosimo had 29 assists, 10 digs, and six kills without an error. The Pride had three in double-digits in digs, and served aggressively all day, finishing with 13 aces but also a whopping 20 service errors. KSC made 11 serving miscues themselves. Small had 13 assists and three aces, but the Owls did not have a player in double-digits for digs.
It took KSC about half a set to get going in the day's second match and final of the weekend, but once they did, Westfield State (0-3) had no answers, getting blitzed as the Owls improved to 34-9 in the all-time series. Keene State used a 7-0 burst and a well-balanced attack to turn an 11-8 deficit into a 15-11 lead and it kept expanding from there, as a kill by
Katie Taylor and ace by
Amanda Barry made it 21-13. Westfield was never closer than five after that.
The second set turned into a rapid runaway right away behind a shining run at the service line by Harkins, who ripped off four aces in an opening 11-0 surge. KSC also was scorching on offense in the frame, making just one error and hitting a whopping .524. Westfield's only glimmer came when they shrunk a 13-2 deficit to 14-6, but as soon as they did,
Aiya Dottin and Miller powered down spikes to push the lead right back into double-digits. The edge grew to 12 (20-8) after yet another ace by Harkins, and KSC closed the frame later with four straight in part on two Bacon swings and a block by Bartels.
The Owls built an even bigger lead in the third to close out their second sweep in four matches, with an early kill by Bacon putting KSC up 7-3. Westfield got one point back, but the Owls put up another 5-0 run right after on three kills and a block to go in front by eight. Leading 14-7, Harkins helped author another mammoth surge, with KSC scoring eight more in a row to go up by a match-high 15 points. Dottin then capitalized on match point for a 12-point set victory later as KSC, after battling in two four-set losses, finished the weekend with a needed win.
Keene State hit .306 in the match, racking up 38 kills to just 12 errors. Harkins finished with an impressive 20-assist, seven ace effort. Bacon had nine kills without an error, hit .409, and added eight digs while Bartels and Taylor each had seven spikes. As a team, the Owls also had a 10-0 edge in aces and 7-2 in blocks.
Through four matches, KSC is outhitting their opponents .213 to .142 and is plus-seven (32-25) in aces.
Lauren Carnes, also an All-Tournament selection, led Westfield State with 14 of their 29 kills on .300 hitting.
Saelua was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for Springfield and was joined in the weekend awards by Hiatt and Colosimo. Skidmore's Chloe Heitman also received All-Tournament honors.
Keene State returns home to host Nichols College (0-3) on Thursday for a 6:00 p.m. start.
