NEW LONDON, Conn.--Freshman outside hitter Ashley Adams (Mystic) had a team-high 12 kills in her collegiate debut while senior libero Erynn Miller (Stratford) had a match-high 27 digs leading the Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team to a season-opening 3-1 win over the U.S.  Coast Guard Academy on the opening night of the Bear Classic Friday at Merriman Gymnasium on the USCGA campus.

Featuring five freshmen in their lineup, Eastern won by scores of 26-24, 20-25, 25-18, 25-22. The Warriors had lost to Coast Guard seven of the last nine times the programs had met.

Adams and freshman outside hitter Adrianna Mihalek (Woodbury) combined for nearly 60 percent of the team's attack attempts, combining for 81 of the team's 138 attempts. Mihalek followed Adam's team-high kill total with nine. Coast Guard had no answer for Eastern middle hitters Bry Kelly (Dunbarton, NH), a sophomore, and freshman Kay Mullen (Fairhaven, MA). The pair combined for a  .577 attack percentage. Mullen had nine kills and no errors and Kelly seven kills and only one mistake.

Juniors Allie Henry (Middletown) and Jess Patrizi (Beacon Falls) combined for 36 assists for the Warriors, Patrizi leading the way with 19. Mihalek followed Miller with ten digs, Patrizi and Henry adding five each.

Eastern attacked at only .152 in the match, but the Bears piled up 29 attack errors for a .126 percentage.

The Warriors won the first game by fighting off a Coast Guard game point and scoring the final three points for the win. Coast Guard led the entire game until the Warriors took their first lead at 25-24.

The third game was tied 15-all  before the Warriors ran off five of the next six points for a 20-16 edge and went on to a seven-point win.

Eastern closed out the match in the fourth game when it scored six straight to break a 15-15 tie opening up a 21-16 edge.

Senior Kelsey Deporto had a match-high 15 kills to lead Coast Guard while sophomore Kelsey Hickle added ten kills and 14 digs. Senior libero Samantha Marmolejo led the Bears wtih 18 digs while sophomore Maggie Hine registered a match-high 41 assists.

In the first match of the night, junior Katie Hall had a team-high 11 kills while freshman Mary Tobin added ten kills and 17 digs in her collegiate debut leading Stevens Tech to a 3-1 win over Colby-Sawyer College.

Senior Samantha Gates led the Ducks with a match-high 38 assists while junior Kirsten Salmins led the way with a match-high 23 digs in the win.

Saturday, Eastern faces Stevens Tech at 9 a.m. and Colby-Sawyer at 1 p.m.  The Warriors and Ducks meet for only the second time – first since Stevens posted a four-set victory in 2005. The Warriors hold a slim 4-3 series lead over Colby-Sawyer, but the Chargers have captured the last two and three of the last four.