KEENE, N.H. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team rallied from five points down late in the important third set but couldn't complete the comeback, losing the final two sets by two points each in a four-set Little East Conference loss to Keene State College Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium. Eastern lost by scores of 25-20, 19-25, 23-25, 24-26.
After attacking at .231 in winning the first set, Eastern (9-5, 2-1 LEC) managed just .101 as Keene (6-9, 1-1 LEC) won the final three sets and managed to defeat Eastern for only the second time in the last six matches in the series. Keene was ranked second in the LEC coaches' pre-season poll, Eastern sixth.
In the third set, Eastern led by seven points but later tried to rally from five points down late in the set. Trailing 23-18, Eastern got kills from junior
Taylor Smith (Bowie, MD) and sophomore
Taylor Thompson (West Point, NY) off sets from sophomore
Liz Squier (Trevor, WI) and three Keene attack errors to slice the gap to one, 24-23. With Eastern serving with a chance to tie, Gigi Stake used a key to end the set in Keene's favor.
Trying to force a fifth set, Eastern led by a pair late on Squier's service aces and was serving for set point before Veronica Kroah pushed the hosts ahead with two kills and Stephanie Olah ended it with her team's eighth straight kill following its last attack error.
Against Keene, junior
Bella Johnson (Marlborough) – the only All-Little East returnee among last year's four selections -- equalled her second-best season high with 11 kills on a season-best .308 attack percentage. Senior
Paige Savitsky (Centereach, NY) had ten kills and attack at a match-high .391, with first-year player
Brooke Praskievicz (Moodus) adding nine kills, 15 digs and a perfect percentage on 23 reception attempts. Squire had 21 assists and sophomore
Samantha Blandford (Windham, NH) 16. Blandford and Squier each had four of the team's 16 service aces and Savitsky led three in double figures in digs with 18, and junior
Cassie Parmelee (East Berlin) adding 16.
In a non-conference match later in the afternoon at Keene, Eastern downed Framingham State University, 25-18, 26-24, 12-25, 25-20 for the ninth time in the ten-match series. Praskievicz led Eastern with 15 kills 17 digs and four service aces, Johnson adding 11 kills. Squier had 28 assists, Blandford three service aces and 12 assists and Savitsky was perfect on 21 reception attempts. Parmelee followed Praskievicz with 12 digs.
Eastern hosts Trinity College Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a non-conference makeup contest from Sept. 8 that was postponed due to a sweltering gym.
