By Nico Mergins
 

WILLIMANTIC, Conn – Led by first-year outside hitter Emma Robinson (Westlake Village, CA) and sophomore middle blocker Haley Jo Bridges (Montebello, NY) who respectively had 12 and seven kills, the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors swept the University of St. Joseph (CT) Blue Jays in the historic 50th season opener August 30th at the Francis E. Geissler Gym. It was domination from start to finish, winning by scores of 25-12, 25-14, and 25-10. The Warriors have now won their last twenty-two matches versus the Blue Jays.

In her collegiate debut, the 5-foot-9 Robinson put on one of the most impressive performances in a debut, finishing with 12 kills, a .381 attack percentage, five digs, two service aces, and two block assists, for a team-leading 14.5 points. Bridges and senior outside Bella Johnson (Marlborough) each added seven kills and a .450+ attack percentage.

After the game, Robinson spoke about what brought her across the country to play for the Warriors. "My mom [Tammy] is from the East Coast, and I've always wanted to go to the East Coast for college; I have a lot of friends [coming] out here, and I just wanted something new, and I knew that this was going to be a good program for me, and I'm so happy that I'm here; I'm having the best time ever."

Eleventh-year head coach Megan Silver-Droesch had high praise for Robinson following her collegiate debut performance. "We've been able to see really early that Emma's going to be able to contribute, not just [on] offense, she can contribute in six rotations [the ability to play both front and back row]. When you have those athletes that can come in and contribute in six rotations, it really settles things down and it gives you so much versatility."

Against Saint Joseph, also playing its opener, the Warriors bolted to a 4-0 lead behind the serving of junior setter Liz Squier (Trevor, WI), who set the tone from the game's first point with a service ace. Later, however, the Jays began to build momentum off a 4-1 run, bringing them within six points, at 14-8, but ultimately, it was an attack error committed by the Jays on the next point that proved to be the critical juncture in the first set, as the Warriors rattled off seven straight points after that on the way to the 13-point first-set win.

In the second set, first-year setter Ariah Davis (Raleigh, NC) served the Warriors to an early 7-1 lead. Later in the set, sophomore outside Brooke Praskievicz (Moodus) served the Warriors to another run of 5-0 to bring the set to 15-3. The Jays quickly rallied off three unanswered points during a 6-2 run to pull within seven at 20-13, prompting Silver-Droesch to use her first timeout of the night.

Following the timeout, the Jays continued to inch closer with another three-point rally, now only trailing by seven, at 20-13. Seeing this, Droesch elected for her second timeout of the night, and this time, the message got through. The Warriors went on a 4-0 run to clinch the second set by 11 points coming out of that second timeout.

Droesch said she used the timeouts to refocus the team. "It's about discipline, so, hey, we need to settle, communicate, go back to our basics, and then hit the gas pedal and be relentless," said Droesch. Bridges added, "We used that time to breathe, take a real deep breath, recollect ourselves, and tell ourselves what the goal was, to win this game…I think we went [into the match] clear minded, had our goal, focused to win this game, and played just, happy."

In the third set, the Warriors indeed kept their foot on the gas pedal, clinching the set and game by 15 points, the largest set victory of the night,

Both Droesch and Bridges also spoke about how special it is for Eastern volleyball to have thrived for fifty years since its first season in 1975.

"[Floretta] Pinky Crabtree started the program, and she was really a pioneer," said Droesch. "So she started this program here, and she brought in people, they were highly, highly successful for a very long time, and she really helped with the formation and the development of volleyball in New England."

Concluded Bridges, "I think it's truly an honor, honestly, to be able to come here, play the sport that I love, have a great education, and get to show off and show out like this, it's an honor."