WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team  couldn't capitalize on four chances to earn set point in the important second set and Keene State College went on to a 25-14, 30-28, 25-21 Little East Conference victory Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

At right: Bry Kelly (Photo by Macaire Jones)

Keene State (10-6) went on to sweep Eastern Nazarene College (7-10) in the second match and Eastern (7-8)  earned a split on the day with a sweep of Eastern Nazarene in the final match.

The Warriors led early in the first set but Keene went on a 12-3 run and coasted to the first-set victory. In the second set, Eastern couldn't put away set point four times, and the Owls finally scored three consecutive points for the two-point victory. A Keene block pulled them even at 28-all, and Sammy Dormio and Madeline Nossif closed it out with kills.

In the third set, the Owls broke from a 16-all tie with four straight points, with Olivia Broderick contributing two kills in the run which put the visitors in command.

Angela Silveri had ten kills and attacked at .300 for Keene against Eastern, with Alexis Michal and Brooke Bell combining for 29 assists.  Kaitlin Boyer had 15 digs, Silveri 13 digs and Dormio 12 to pace Keene defensively.

The Warriors attacked at just .061. Freshman Adrianna Mihalek (Woodbury)  recorded a third of Eastern's kills with ten but attacked at only .085. She also added nine digs. Junior Allie Henry (Middletown) had ten assists and nine digs, senior Erynn Miller (Stratford) eight digs, and junior Jess Patrizi (Beacons Falls) 11 assists.

Keene, which reached last year's Little East Conference final, has won six of seven.

Against Eastern Nazarene, senior Nicki Gasch (New Fairfield) topped the Warriors with 15 kills and a .312 attack percentage. Mihalek added 12 kills, Allie Luppi 11 digs, Henry 15 assists, and Patrizi ten digs and 18 assists.

The Warriors snapped a 3-3 tie with three points in the first set against the Lions and never trailed. Eastern Nazarene battled in the second set and led 17-16 before the Warriors reeled off four straight to take the momentum. Miller served Eastern to a 6-0 lead in the third set and Eastern was not seriously threatened the rest of the way.

Lauryl Berger totaled 19 assists for Eastern Nazarene against Eastern, , Hannah Welsh collecting eight kills, Kortney Jenkins 11 digs and Vanessa Pascal ten.

In six sets on the afternoon, Gasch and Mihalek evently split 44 kills, Luppi registering a team-high 18 digs, Miller and Mihalek adding 15 and Patrizi 14. Miller handled 33 receptions with only three serves, and Mihalek was perfect on 26 reception tries.  Patrizi had 29 assists, Henry 25.

For Keene,  Silveri dominated with 25 kills and a .404 attack percentage Nossif adding 13 kills and attacking at .281 and Broderick adding 11 kils and a .364 attack percentage Michael and Bell combined for 49 assists., with Boyer leading all Keene players with 21 digs, Silveri adding 19.

For Eastern Nazarene, Welsh totaled 15 kills, Cayla Clinkscale and Jenkins chipping in with 11 each. Berger had 37 of her team's 42 assists, and Jenkins, Clinkscale and Pascal each had 16 digs.

Eastern hosts the 33^rd Annual Crabtree Classic Saturday.

Keene State College 3, Eastern Conn. 0

 Keene State (9-6, 1-1 Little East)                   25        30        25

Eastern Conn. (6-8, 1-1 Little East)                14        28        21

Keene State College 3, Eastern Nazarene College 0

 Eastern Nazarene (7-9)                       15        16        17

Keene State (10-6)                              25        25        25

Eastern Conn. 3, Eastern Nazarene College 0

 Eastern Nazarene (7-10)                     21        20        18

Eastern Conn. (7-8)                             25        25        25