KEENE, N.H. --  The Keene State College women's volleyball team survived a tight fourth set to force a deciding set but Eastern Connecticut State University rallied from an early deficit in the fifth set to post a five-set victory in the Little East Conference opener for both teams Friday night at Spaulding Gymnasium. Set scores were 20-25, 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13.

After being swept by Keene (5-9) three straight times and in five of the previous six matches, the Warriors (9-3, 6-1 away from home) had owned the series recently, winning five of the previous seven heading into Friday's match. However, they had lost three straight at Spaulding Gym and four of five dating back to 2017 prior to this season.

Keene, which lost all three of its All-LEC players from a year ago and was ranked ninth in the pre-season in the nine-team conference under second-year head coach Jacob Girard, had lost its first two matches this year at home, in five sets to Bridgewater State University in its home-opener Sept. 2 and in four to Rivier College nine days ago.

Set 5 -  Warriors 15, Owls 13

Eastern fell behind quickly by four points before rallying to cut the gap to a point on several occasions, including 9-8 midway through 15-point decisive set. Eastern finally tied it at 9 on a Keene attack error. Trailing 12-11, Eastern tied it on a Keene service error, and took its first lead, 13-12 when first-year player Allegra Copeland (Beaumont, CA) blocked senior Gigi Stake. Following a Keene timeout, Eastern moved to within a point of match point on a service ace by junior Brooke Praskievicz (Moodus). Leading 14-13 with Keene serving, the Warriors won for the fourth time in five five-set matches in the series against Keene when sophomore Emma Robinson (Westlake Village, CA) closed it out with a kill off a set by Praskievicz.

Set 4 -  Owls 25, Warriors 23

The Owls forced a fifth and deciding set (the fifth in the series between the programs) by breaking the ninth and final tie at 22 with a kill by Katie Taylor and a service ace, and after a Keene service error allowed the Warriors to avoid set point and regain the serve, an Eastern attack error closed out the Keene win. Eastern attacked at only .077 (11 kills and eight attack errors) while Keene overcame four service errors, showing life with a .170 mark. 

Set 3 - Warriors 25, Owls 20

Fresh off their Set 2 domination, the Warriors played well enough to take the all-important third set. While Eastern attacked at only .212, Keene struggled again with a .080 mark. Eastern scored five of the first six points before the teams settled into a see-saw affair that included seven ties. With the scored tied at 17-all, Eastern  regained its footing, scoring five straight to open up a five-point lead  and outscoring the hosts 8-3 the rest of the way. In that decisive five-point run, junior Haley Jo Bridges (Montebello, NY) got it going with a kill, first-year setter Sonya Nielsen (Waterford, WI) served three straight points (including an ace), the Owls hurt themselves with two bad sets and an attack error.

Set 2 - Warriors 25, Owls 10

After losing the first set Friday, the Warriors stormed back in the second, attacking at .367 (as opposed to Keen'e's .030), collecting four service aces, and outscoring the hosts  14-1 to take command, 15-4. In that 14-1 run, California natives Robinson and Copeland each had three kills, sophomore Addison Soleau (East Lyme) adding two and Praskievicz a kill and consecutive service aces.

Set 1 - Owls 25, Warriors 20

Keene broke the tenth and final tie of the first set by scoring three straight and the Warriors were unable to get closer than two points the rest of the way. With the score tied at 17, the Owls put together three straight kills from three different players. An Eastern service error and an Eastern attack error closed out the win for Keene.

Copeland and Robinson shared the Eastern lead with 13 kills each, with Copeland attacking at .346. Junior Sierra York (Ashford) and Soleau each added eight kills (York attacking at .333) and Bridges seven. Soleau also collected six blocks. Senior setting Liz Squier (Trevor, WI) had 26 assists and 15 digs, Praskievicz a match-high 25 digs along with two aces and two blocks. . Nielsen also set for 17 assists.

Eastern returns home Saturday to host the University of Hartford (3-7) in a non-conference match at 2 p.m. The Warriors are 3-2 at Francis E. Geisssler Gymnasium this season, splitting a pair of non-conference matches this past Saturday.