SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Connecticut College women's volleyball team opened play at the Skidmore Classic with a 3-2 victory over SUNY Oneonta on Friday night at Williamson Sports Center.

The Camels, who won by set scores of 25-18, 24-25, 19-25, 25-14 and 15-8, improved to 2-0 on the young season. Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) and Mila Chan (San Francisco, Calif.) paved the way with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Josie Kelly (Solana Beach, Calif.) fueled the offense with 35 assists while Caroline Festersen (Omaha, Neb.) paced all defenders with 19 digs.

In a tight opening set, Conn used a 5-1 run to create an 18-13 cushion. The Red Dragons eventually cut the lead down to one, but the Camels never yielded the advantage and won seven of the final eight points to secure the set. 

Oneonta bounced back in the second set, narrowly pulling out a victory to tie up the match. In the third, the Red Dragons broke a 14-14 stalemate with an 11-5 stretch that brought them within a set of victory.

Conn responded with a solid fourth set in which it never trailed. Evie Lockwood Mullaney (Needham, Mass.) and Katherine Randall (Chicago, Ill.) each supplied three kills in the stanza, and Festersen tacked on a pair of service aces for good measure.

In the winner-take-all fifth set, the Camels got off to a 5-1 start behind a pair of kills by Chan and another ace from Festersen. Taylor Merrifield (Honolulu, Hawaii) later added a pair of aces, and a kill by Kelly extended the margin to 9-3. Conn slammed the door by taking six of the final eight points, with Randall picking up her seventh kill of the night to end the match.

Lockwood Mullaney finished with nine kills while Zoe Watts (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in seven. Chan recorded her first career double-double with 14 digs to go with her 11 kills.

Conn (2-0 overall) will continue play at the Skidmore Classic on Saturday, September 7 with matches against Nazareth at 10 a.m. and Plattsburgh State at 2:00 p.m.