WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Eastern Connecticut volleyball split two games on Saturday (Sept. 12) as part of a tri-match, falling to Trinity (CT) before beating Worcester State to close out the night.
Both matches for Eastern (5-1) were decided in three sets with Trinity (5-0) sweeping the opener, 25-15, 25-15, 25-21, and the Warriors sweeping Worcester State (0-7), 25-12, 25-17, 25-21.
TRINITY (CT) 3, EASTERN CONNECTICUT 0
The Warriors struggled offensively to start the day against Trinity, hitting just .027, while the Bantams hit .310. Trinity dominated at the net, finishing with 10 blocks to just one for Eastern.
Brooke Praskievicz led Eastern with nine kills and added nine digs.
Emma Robinson had seven kills and seven digs. Both
Sonya Nielsen and
Lauren Lacy picked up 11 assists.
Emerson Conigliaro led Eastern's defense with 18 digs.
Eastern trailed by three in the first set, 14-11 before Trinity scored four of the next five points to take control of the set.
In set two, Eastern trailed early before batting back to 14-13 after a kill from
Lauren Mosca. Trinity responded with eight-straight points, ending any chance of a comeback.
The Warriors took a 13-8 lead after a 5-0 run that had kills from Praskievicz and Robinson but Trinity climbed its way back into the set, tying it at 20. Praskievicz gave Eastern the lead with a kill but that was the last point of the match for the Warriors and Trinity scored the next five to end it.
EASTERN CONNECTICUT 3, WORCESTER STATE 0
Eastern hit .286 in the second match of the day with the outsides doing most of the damage. Robinson hit .421 with 10 kills and added 11 digs for a double-double.
Sierra York hit .471 on nine kills and Mosca had six kills, hitting .333.
On defense,
Haley Jo Bridges had a team-high seven blocks and
Genna Hyde added three.
Down 4-3, Eastern exploded on a 9-1 run to take a commanding 12-5 lead. Another 6-1 run that featured three kills from York and a kill by
Finnley Wilson put Eastern up 21-9 and Wilson added an ace to end the set.
In the middle of set two, Eastern used an 8-1 run to go up 15-7 after an ace from Robinson. Worcester State climbed back into the set to make it 24-17 but
Lyla Passwater closed out the second with a kill.
A 5-0 run with two kills from Robinson and a block by the duo of Bridges and Hyde put Eastern up 10-4. The Lancers pulled back within one at 18-17 and the teams traded points with a kill by Worcester State making it 23-21 in favor of the Warriors. Eastern the took advantage of a service error and a kill by Bridges and York closed out the match.
UP NEXT
Eastern will be back home on Wednesday (Sept. 16) against Bay Path at 6 p.m.
