Box Score
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. --  Sophomore Sierra York (Ashford) and first-year player Emma Robinson (Westlake Village, CA) each had five kills in the fourth set to help the Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team push the match to the five-set limit, but the Warriors allowed the first four points of the fifth set and never fully recovered in a non-conference loss to Connecticut College Wednesday evening at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. Conn won by scores of 20-25, 25-14, 25-20, 16-25, 15-8.
 
In the fifth set,  three kills by Rae Wartelle and an Eastern (11-7) attack error staked the Camels (11-6) to a quick 4-0 lead and after the Warriors later cut the deficit to one, two kills by Riley Lord and three Eastern attack errors allowed Conn to gain a six-point, 12-6 lead. In all, Conn outscored Eastern 8-2 to close out the match.
 
Led by Wartelle, Lord and Evie Mullaney Lockwood (a combined 37 kills and a .442 attack percentage), Conn attacked at .243 in the match – the second-best percentage this year against Eastern. The Warriors attacked at .098 – its sixth match this year under .100.
 
Hoping to stave off elimination, Eastern posted the nine-point win in the fourth set to remain alive. In the set, the Warriors attacked at .289 – their best mark on the evening. Eastern never trailed in the set after Robinson served it to a 5-0 lead. York attacked at .444 in the set and Robinson .286, with first-year libero Emerson Conigliaro (Wake Forest, NC) digging up seven balls and junior setter Liz Squier (Trevor, WI) recording 14 assists.
 
Wartelle led all players in the match with 16 kills and a .560 attack percentage, with Lord adding 12 kills and a .391 attack percentage and Mullaney Lockwood nine kills and a .364 attack percentage. Mila Chan had 14 kills for the Camels but attacked at only .093.  Setter Josie Kelly recorded 50 of her team's 56 assists , while Katerine Randall had a match-high 19 digs,  libero Taylor Merrifield 15 and Chan 13.
 
Robinson topped Eastern with 15 kills, seven service aces and 13 digs, and handled 19 receptions with just one error; sophomore Maggie Barr (Easthampton, MA) had eight kills and attacked at .375 (and added two block solos) and York added six kills; Squier set for 36 assists and had eight digs and sophomore Brooke Praskievicz (Moodus) was perfect on 13 receptions and 13 serves and dug up eight balls. Senior Bella Johnson (Marlborough) had eight kills, seven digs and three blocks and Conigliaro ten digs and committed only one error on 22 reception attempts.
 
As a team, Eastern committed only four reception errors while Robinson's seven aces along with two from junior libero Sadie Blackwell (Southbury) and two from Conigliaro forced 12 Conn reception errors.
 
Conn has beaten Eastern 13 of the last 14 times the teams have met and has captured four straight five-set matches since the Warriors won the first time the match went to five sets 20 years ago.
 
Eastern returns to Little East Conference action Wednesday at Western Connecticut State University at 7 p.m.