WESTFIELD, Mass. – Eastern Connecticut volleyball (7-2) split matches on Saturday, falling to Salve Regina to start the day and beating Westfield State to close out play.
SALVE REGINA 3, EASTERN CONNECTICUT 1
Eastern Connecticut dropped a four-set match to start its day, falling 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22 to Salve Regina.
Emma Robinson finished the match with season-highs in both kills (17) and digs (14) for her second double-double of the season.
Brooke Praskievicz also posted a double-double, finishing with a season-high 16 kills and adding 14 digs.
The offense was guided by
Lauren Lacy (23 assists) and
Sonya Nielsen (19 assists).
On defense,
Emerson Conigliaro matched Robinson and Praskievicz with 14 digs to lead the Warriors.
Conigliaro also had a team-high three aces as Eastern finished the match with 10.
Eastern trailed 23-18 in the first set before scoring four-straight to pull within one but Salve Regina closed out the set with two-straight points.
A back-and-forth set once again saw Eastern pull within two late at 22-20 with back-to-back kills from Robinson but the Seahawks scored the final three points of the set to take a 2-0 lead.
Another close set had Salve take a 21-19 lead after a 3-0 run but Robinson kick-started a 5-0 run with two kills and Praskievicz kept the match going with a kill.
After trailing early, Eastern pulled within one at 22-21, using a 6-1 run. Salve scored two points to earn match point before Praskievicz kept things going with a kill. A final kill by the Seahawks ended the match.
EASTERN CONNECTICUT 3, WESTFIELD STATE 2
To close out the day, Eastern Connecticut came back from 2-1 down to beat Westfield State in five sets, 25-20, 19-25, 20-25, 25-12, 15-2.
Three Warriors finished with double-figure kills, led by
Sierra York with 12.
Brooke Praskievicz and
Emma Robinson each added 11.
Sonya Nielsen paced the offense with 24 assists and
Lauren Lacy had 13.
Praskievicz had another double-double tying for the team lead with 10 digs. Nielsen also had a double-double adding 10 digs and
Emerson Conigliaro added 10 digs. At the net,
Lyla Passwater led Eastern with six blocks, with
Haley Jo Bridges and York each picking up four.
Robinson led the Warriors at the service line with six aces as Eastern picked up 16 aces on the evening.
Eastern jumped ahead early in the first set and maintained the lead throughout as the Warriors took set one. Westfield State took set two and three to put Eastern in a hole.
Two kills by Robinson halfway through the fourth set helped Eastern take a 14-8 lead but Westfield State responded with four-straight points to pull within two. With Robinson on the service line, Eastern rattled off the next 11 points with Robinson ending the set with two aces.
The points continued for Eastern in the fifth set as the Warriors scored 12 of the first 13 points. After a service error, Eastern scored the next three points to earn the match win.
UP NEXT
Eastern returns home for a midweek matchup against Connecticut College on Wednesday (Sept. 23) at 6 p.m.
