WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut College came away with a 3-0 victory over the University of Saint Joseph on Wednesday night in non-conference women's volleyball action at Ray Oosting Gymnasium.
The Camels pulled out the win behind set scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-22 to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Emma Wheeler (Meredith, N.H.) led the way with a season-high 14 kills and hit .600 for the match, and
Katie Gunderman (Oakland, Calif.) added nine kills and three blocks while hitting .412.
In the opening set, Conn jumped out to a 9-1 advantage and never trailed.
Katherine Randall (Chicago, Ill.) served for a pair of aces during the stretch while Gunderman tacked on two kills. Later in the set, a 5-1 run pulled the Blue Jays to within two at 23-21, but a kill by Randall and a USJ attack error sewed up the set for the Camels.
The score was much tighter in the second set as Saint Joseph took an early lead and played from in front for most of the stanza. A kill by Wheeler gave Conn its first lead at 19-18, part of a 7-0 run that provided the Camels a 23-18 cushion.
Christina Leduc (North Dennis, Mass.) then supplied a kill for the penultimate point of the set, and another USJ attack error yielded a 2-0 Conn lead.
Conn got off to another great start in the third, racing out to an 8-2 lead behind two kills apiece from Wheeler and
Taylor Knott (Chapel Hill, N.C.). The Blue Jays quickly reeled the visitors back in, winning 11 of the next 15 points to grab the lead at 13-12. The Camels fired back with four straight points to regain the lead, but USJ responded with a 4-0 run of its own. The rest of the set was nip and tuck, with Conn pulling away late thanks to an ace by
Caroline Boyd (Stamford, Conn.) and a pair of kills from Wheeler.
Natasha Shrivastava (San Diego, Calif.) fueled the Conn offense with 21 assists on the night. On the defensive side,
Julia Dailey (Charlottesville, Va.) finished with a match-high 12 digs while the Camels had seven players combine for 10 blocks.
Conn returns to NESCAC play at Bowdoin College on Friday, September 23 at 7 p.m.
