Box Score NEW LONDON, Conn. – Eastern Connecticut State University raced out to early leads and hit .253 for the match in a 3-0 victory over the Mitchell College women's volleyball team Thursday evening in non-conference action at the Yarnall Athletic Center. Set scores were 25-9, 25-17, 25-13.
Eastern's (12-11) season-high four-match winning streak gives it seven wins in its last nine outings heading into this weekend 32nd Annual Crabtree Classic at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. The two-time defending tournament champion, Eastern faces Elmira College Friday night at 7 p.m. in its first of four weekend matches.
Senior Katie Wilson (Pittsburg, CA) – the Little East Conference Offensive Player-of-the-Week the last two weeks -- posted a match-high eight kills to lead the Warriors and exceed the 300-kill plateau for the season. Freshman Allie Luppi (Tewksbury, MA) handed out 13 assists and added five aces while sophomore Allie Henry (Middletown) added ten assists and senior Danielle Bourne (Branford) finished with 14 digs to lead all players, junior Erynn Miller (Stratford) totaling ten.
In three sets, Eastern commited only three reception errors, and led by Luppi, collected seven service aces.
The decisive wins allowed second-year head coach Peter Maneggia to substitute freely, resting his starters and giving the reserves plenty of court time.
Junior Gloria Charles led Mitchell (6-11) with six kills while classmate Nicole Terni recorded 13 assists. Senior Arianna Thomas had 11 digs while Charles and senior Kendra Erskine each finished with a pair of blocks.
In the opening set, Luppi served Eastern out to a 7-0 lead, recording two aces during the stretch. The Warriors finished with 12 kills in the set while holding the Mariners to single digits. Wilson had four kills in the frame while senior Shannon Burke (Manchester) added three.
The second set was the most competitive of the night, and Mitchell took its first lead at 5-4. The lead wouldn't last long, as back-to-back kills by freshman Bryanna Kelly (Dunbarton, NH) and sophomore Sarah Howard (Tolland) put Eastern back in front 8-6. The Warriors would never again trail in the match and closed out the set by winning 11 of the final 16 points.
Junior Samantha Browning (Mystic) served for five straight points as Eastern opened the third set with a 7-2 advantage. The Warriors pushed the margin to double digits on a kill by Browning that made it 14-4 and cruised to the finish. Browning registered two of her six kills in the final set. Browning attached at .417 in the match, recording six kills and but one error in 12 attempts.
