AMHERST, Mass. – The Connecticut College women's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss to Amherst College in the first round of the 2023 NESCAC Championship on Friday night at LeFrak Gymnasium.

The eighth-seeded Mammoths (8-11 overall) topped the ninth-seeded Camels by set scores of 25-20, 25-17 and 25-17 to advance to Sunday's quarterfinal round. Conn College ends the season with an overall record of 12-12. 

Katherine Randall (Chicago, Ill.) posted her second double-double in as many days, finishing with a team-high 10 kills to go with 13 digs. Riley Lord (Exeter, N.H.) chipped in six kills, 10 digs and three service aces, and Natasha Shrivastava (San Diego, Calif.) contributed 16 assists and 10 digs.

The Camels got a kill from Randall to open the match, but Amherst responded by winning the next seven points to take control. Later in the set, back-to-back kills from Randall and a service ace by Taylor Merrifield (Honolulu, Hawaii) cut the deficit to 16-13, but the Mammoths cushioned the margin by taking four of the next five points. Three straight aces from Lord brought the Camels back to within 23-20, but Amherst regrouped with a timeout before claiming the final two points.

Amherst played with the lead for the majority of the second set as Charlotte Rasmussen supplied six kills to lead the charge. The third set was the most competitive of the night, with the lead changing hands five times before the Mammoths pulled in front for good at 17-16. The hosts closed out the match with a 9-1 run that was capped by blocks from Chloe Chanren and Chideraa Ngwadom.

Rasmussen led all players with 16 kills and hit .333 for the match.