NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's volleyball team split a tri-match on Saturday at Luce Field House, falling 3-2 to Worcester Polytechnic Institute before bouncing back to win 3-0 against Rhode Island College.
WPI, which also picked up a 3-0 win over RIC, improved to 9-11 on the year. In the opener, the Engineers overcame a slow start against the Camels to win a competitive match by set scores of 18-25, 26-24, 26-24, 12-25 and 19-17. Catherine Reynolds led the way with 13 kills, 16 assists and 13 digs.
Emma Wheeler (Meredith, N.H.) racked up a career-high 19 kills to lead Conn.
Conn bounced back from the early loss to defeat RIC by set scores of 25-20, 25-13 and 25-16 in the final match of the day. Wheeler and
Zoe Watts (Chicago, Ill.) paced the offense with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while
Olivia Dow (San Anselmo, Calif.) handed out a career-high 34 assists.
Conn College (10-10 overall) will next play at Mitchell College on Tuesday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m.
Game 1 – WPI 3, Conn College 2
The Camels started the match with an 8-2 burst that provided some early breathing room. Even after WPI fought back to even the score at 12-12, Conn never trailed in the set. The hosts won nine of the final 12 points to grab the early 1-0 advantage, with Wheeler leading the charge with four kills and a pair of blocks in the set.
Things tightened up in the second set as both squads found a rhythm. A late kill by
Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) staved off a set point and evened the score at 24-24, but WPI got a kill from Lily Eldridge and a service ace from Alana Harris to even the match at 1-1.
The third set also went down to the wire, with Wheeler tying the score at 24-24 with her fifth kill of the frame. Once again it was the Engineers who rallied for the final two points, getting a kill by Emily Hudson and a ball-handling error to grab a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was the least competitive of the match, as
Caroline Festersen (Omaha, Neb.) served the Camels out to an 8-0 start. Conn kept its foot on the gas, rolling the lead up to 14-2 before cruising to the finish. Watts provided five kills in the stanza as the hosts sent the match to a deciding fifth set.
The finale was close until a 3-0 spurt gave WPI an 11-8 advantage. The Engineers later led 14-12 before Wheeler took matters into her own hands, tying the match with a kill and a service ace. The Camels fought off a total of four match points in the set, but couldn't quite get over the hump.
Wheeler hit .486 with 19 kills on 35 swings and also finished with a pair of blocks. Watts ended with 12 kills and seven digs, and
Riley Lord (Exeter, N.H.) tacked on 11 kills and 10 digs.
Natasha Shrivastava (San Diego, Calif.) finished with a season-high 45 assists and added seven digs.
Game 2 – Conn College 3, RIC 0
After the morning loss, the Camels took out their frustrations on the Anchorwomen in the day's final contest. Conn trailed only once in the match—at 1-0 in the third set—and held a 43-15 edge in total kills.
Conn used a 14-3 run to build a double-digit margin in the opening set. Wheeler and Watts combined for nine of the team's 16 kills, and Wartelle was a part of all three blocks in the stanza.
The Camels continued to pour it on in the second, finishing with 12 kills while siding out on 11 of 13 opportunities. RIC didn't help its own cause, finishing with more errors than kills for the set.
Conn put an end to things quickly in the third, building a 15-6 lead and carrying the momentum to the finish. The Camels capped the match with a 6-1 run that included six kills, with two apiece coming from Watts and Wartelle.
Rhode Island College (8-13 overall) was led by Sydnee Pires with five kills.
