WILLIMANTIC, Conn. --  The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team overcome a two-set deficit but couldn't protect an early lead in the decisive fifth set in losing a 16-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 13-15 non-conference decision to Emmanuel College Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnsium.

At right: Kay Mullen and Nicki Gasch (Photo by Liam Murphy)

Eastern  held a slim lead throughout the fifth set until Emmanuel (21-12) pulled even three times late in the set. A kill from freshman Adrianna Mihalek (Woodbury) provided the Warriors with a 13-12 lead, but the hosts commited three errors to end the match – two on attack errors and one on a match-ending block error on a kill  from sophomore Shannon Dudley.

Eastern (14-15) closed out its regular season later Saturday with 25-14, 25-11, 25-12 non-conference victories over the University of Saint Joseph, CT (9-19).

Down two sets against Emmanuel, Eastern battled back. It won the third set behind six kills from Mihalek and eight digs each from junior Jess Patrizi (Beacon Falls) and Allie Luppi (Tewksbury, MA).  The Warriors took the lead for good in that set by scoring four straight points to snap a 7-all tie. In that stretch, Mihalek had a kill, Patrizi a service ace and freshman Kay Mullen (Fairhaven, MA) and Mihalek block assist.

At left: Nina Zimmitti (Photo by Liam Murphy)

The Warriors raced to leads of 5-0 and 7-2 in the fourth set but the Saints surged back, taking their first lead at 16-15 and again at 23-22 on a kill from 6-foot-3 inch freshman Kaitlyn Atkinson. With Eastern facing extinction, Mihalek tied the set and senior Nicki Gasch (New Fairfield) gave Eastern a 24-23 lead with kills. Following an Emmanuel timeout, Mullen and Gasch teammed for a block to end the set and force a deciding 15-point contest.

Mihalek collected nearly one-third of Eastern's attack attempts, finishing with 18 kills. Gasch followed with 16 and Mullen 13, with that duo also cimbing on eight blocks. Patrizi served five aces and sophomore Bry Kelly (Dunbarton, NH) four. Luppi recorded 21 digs, Mihalek 17, Patrizi 14 and freshman Nina Zimmitti (East Hampton) ten.  Patrizi also set for 26 assists, junior Allie Henry (Middletown) 22.

Atkinson led the Saints with 15 kills, freshman Cassie Chruscielski 11 and junior Sarah Colby and sophomore Brittany Tutalo eight each.  Dudley led Emmanuel with 38 assists,  junior Cara Callahan with 27 digs and Tutalo with four blocks.

Against Saint Joseph, the Warriors won in a sweep for the eighth time this year. Mihalek, freshman Danielle Robillard (Swansea, MA) and freshman Amanda Tyler (Longmeadow, MA) all had five kills, with Robillard leading the way with ten digs and three service aces.

 On the day, Zimmitti handled 33 serve receives with only two errors.

 Junior  Ciara Perez topped the Blue Jays with eight kills but SJC attacked at just .016, commiting 30 errors against 15 kills. Sophomore Roselande Muscade registered a team-high ten digs for the Blue Jays, Perez adding eight.

Seeded fifth, Eastern plays a first-round match in the Little East Conference playoffs Tuesday at No. 4 seed Western Connecticut State University. The time has not yet been announced.