NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's volleyball team battled to a 3-1 victory over a resilient Eastern Connecticut State University Wednesday night at Luce Field House.
The Camels (9-7) dropped the first set 27-29 but rallied to take the next three by finals of 25-18, 25-15 and 25-22. The victory gave head coach Josh Edmed his 300
th career win at Conn.
Since winning seven straight matches in the series, Eastern (9-7) has lost 12 of its last 13 to the Camels. Eastern has lost three of its last four this year.
Conn had four players finish with double-digit kill totals, with Emma Wheeler leading the way with a match-high 14. Katherine Randall added a double-double of 11 kills and 20 digs while Riley Lord and Rae Wartelle each chipped in 10 kills apiece.
Eastern was led by
Taylor Thompson's (West Point, NY) 11 kills and four block assists.
Cassie Parmelee (East Berlin) and
Brooke Praskievicz (Moodus) paced the defense with 19 and 17 digs, respectively, while serving for four aces each.
Samantha Blandford (Windham, NH) and
Liz Squier (Trevor, WI) combined for 31 assists.
In the opening set, Eastern built a 20-12 advantage on the strength of a 10-2 run and looked poised for a quick finish. The Camels clawed back behind a 12-4 stretch that included four kills from Wartelle to tie the score at 24-24, fighting off a pair of set points in the process. The Warriors later fought off a pair of sets points of their own—the first on a timely block by Thompson and
Maggie Barr (Easthampton, MA), and the second on a kill by Barr—and prevailed thanks to an ace by Parmelee and a kill by
Paige Savitsky (Centereach, NY).
The second set was tied at 11-11 when Conn ripped off a 9-2 run to take control. Lord supplied three kills during the spree, which left the Camels with a seven-point advantage. The Warriors got the deficit down to four, but the hosts nailed down the final three points of the set to even the match at 1-1.
Conn never trailed in the third set after getting off to a 4-0 start, and later a 9-3 spurt brought the lead to 20-9. Randall had four kills in the frame, but it was a stout presence at the net that yielded five blocks for the Camels.
Conn looked in control early in the fourth thanks to a 5-0 start, but Eastern rallied back for eight straight points on the serve of Praskievicz to pull in front. The lead changed hands five more times over the course of the set, with the Camels pulling in front for good at 22-21 on a kill by Lord. Wheeler supplied the final two points of the night with a kill and an ace to end the match.
On Saturday, Eastern visits Dean College, where it is also scheduled to face Worcester State University in a pair of non-conference matches before returning to Little East Conference play next Wednesday at home against Western Connecticut State University and on Saturday, Oct. 21 against Plymouth State University in a conference match, as well as a non-conference match against Suffolk University.
Connecticut College Sports Information contributed to this game account.
