WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- Newcomers and first-time starters played key roles Saturday when the Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team won its second and third matches in a span of just over 24 hours in its home-openers at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasum.
Coming off a four-set win over the University of Saint Joseph in its season-opener Friday afternoon at the O'Connell Athletic Center, Eastern (3-0) spotted USJ two wins in the re-match Saturday at noon before roaring back to capture its final six sets of the afternoon in wins over the Blue Jays (0-3) and Mount Holyoke College (1-1).
Following 25-22, 25-21 losses to USJ in Saturday's first match, the Warriors bounced back for 25-18, 25-19 and 15-11 wins. A half-hour after Mount Holyoke opened it season with a 25-20, 25-13, 25-16 sweep of USJ, the Warriors handed the Lyons their first losses of the season, 25-20, 25-17,25-21.
The win over USJ was Eastern's 21
st straight over the Blue Jays after it lost the opening two matches of the all-time series in 1975. With its fourth straight sweep of Mount Holyoke, Eastern upped its all-time record against the Lyons to 12-1 dating back to 1981.
Following the losses of four starters from a year ago – including two-time All-America middle hitter
Anna Barry – Eastern is turning this year to veterans
Paige Savitsky (Centereach, NY), Stacie Kinlen (Thornwood, NY), Cassie Parmelee (East Berlin) and
Bella Johnson (Marlborough) and a group which includes newcomers and players moving into key roles for the first time.
In Saturday's two wins, first-year players
Haley Jo Bridges (Montebello, NY) and
Brooke Praskievicz (Moodus) combined for 37 kills and a .338 attack percentage, five service aces and 26 digs, with sophomores
Liz Squier (Trevor, WI) and
Samantha Blandford (Windham, NH) – role players a year ago behind starting setter
Meg Verizzi – combining for 86 assists. Parmelee, who has taken over as libero for
Paula Perez, had a team-high 23 digs. In addition to 22 digs and a .275 attack percentage on 20 kills, Praskievicz received a team-high 31 serves with a .936 success percentage (two errors), with Blandford digging up 18 balls to go along with her 39 assists.
Johnson, an All-Little East Conference hitter a year ago, led Eastern with 24 kills while Bridges attacked at a team-high .448 with 17 kills. Additional sophomores assuming larger roles this year are junior
Taylor Smith (Bowie, MD) and sophomore
Taylor Thompson (West Point, NY). Smith had 13 kills and a .265 percentage and a team-high five blocks in Saturday's home-openers and Thompson 15 kills. Sophomore
Sadie Blackwell (Southbury), who served as libero against Mount Holyoke, received 29 services (second to Praskiewvicz) on the afternoon and added 13 digs.
In eight sets, Eastern totalled 23 service aces, led by Blackwell (5), Blandford (4) and Parmelee (4).
In the decisive Game 5 win over Saint Joseph that capped the rally from two sets down, Johnson and
Taylor Thompson both had three kills, and Blandford four digs and a service ace. In that set, Eastern snapped a 3-3 tie with a 9-2 scoring burst that opened up a 12-5 lead. Blandford served four straight points in that stretch.
Eastern remains home for its next three matches before playing six road matches. The Warriors host Trinity College Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern has won three straight and five of six against the Bantams. Four of those six matches have gone the maximum five sets.
