Two Little East Conference (LEC) teams clashed against one another as Eastern Connecticut State University (EastConn) slipped by with a 3-2 5 set victory. This improved the Warriors to 9-3 (1-0 LEC) while Keene State dropped to 5-9 (0-1 LEC).
Keene State struck first with the first set ending 25-20 with 13 kills. However, EastConn responded with a dominant 25-10 set two while holding the Owls to merely four kills and .031 efficiency.
The Warriors continued their momentum in the third set, taking a 2-1 lead with a score of 25-20. But in the fourth set, Keene State showed some grit, using 14 kills to even the game up 2-2. The win-or-go-home fifth set was tightly contested, with both teams going back and forth. The Warriors pulled off the 15-13 fifth set victory, which put them over the Owls 3-2.
Pin hitters Emma Robinson, along with her teammate Allegra Copeland, led EastConn, both with 13 kills, while middle blocker Addison Soleau had eight kills, all for EastConn. Pin hitter Brooke Praskievicz had a monstrous 25 digs, and finally, libero Sarah Aldridge put up 5 aces to the stat sheet.
For the losing side, Keene State College senior Gigi Stake had two aces and 13 kills. Junior Alexis Small had 17 assists and her teammate, first-year Ava Harkins, dished out 19 assists. Finally, for the Owls, sophomore libero Delia Ryan had 20 digs.
The Owls got outplayed in almost every statistical category, including blocks, aces and digs.
KSC will travel to Boston to play 2-10 Simmons University looking to bounce back and build some momentum down the stretch.
Jonathan Smyers can be contacted at
