The Keene State Women’s Volleyball team lost both matches in a “Tri-Match” event at Feldman Arena on Saturday, Sept. 28 against Western Connecticut and a non-conference opponent against Trinity College.
The Owls played their first of two games against Little East Conference (LEC) opponent Western Connecticut, at 12 p.m. to begin their two-game slate. Keene State held itsown against the conference foe but seemingly could not handle the onslaught in any of the three sets. Western Connecticut only had two more kills, but were able to hold on to that momentum to hold the lead. Two kills by first-yearMarina Miller allowed Keene State to crawl back within the lead, but a run in the middle of the first set and then one to close it out allowed the Wolves to begin 1-0.
This momentum continued as Keene State fought back against the kills raining over the net. They ended the match with one less dig as the Western Connecticut, having to stay on the defensive without flipping the script. The last two sets saw much of the same defensive flow and kept the Owls trailing throughout, losing 3-0.
Following the 3-0 loss in their first match of the day, the Owls moved on to another daunting task against Trinity College. The first two sets of this match were similar to the results of the previous loss. Not only could the Owls not produce and score, they were never given the opportunity to. Trinity racked up 13 kills in the first set, and 15 in set number two, keeping the Owls anywhere near being able to volley and set up an attack.
Keene State ramped up the pressure in the third set as senior Stephanie Olah hit back-to-back kills followed by sophomore Sarah Bartels hitting two back-to-back kills. The Owls found a way to hold on to that momentum and earn a win in the third set, forcing a fourth. That third set fire ran out in the next set, as Trinity would regain control and win the fourth set by a close margin of four.
After dropping two games in a row the Owls are looking to get back on the win train as they travel to Eastern Connecticut University to play the Warriors at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5.
Jacob Enscoe can be contacted at
jenscoe@kscequinox.com
