SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Connecticut College women's volleyball team picked up a pair of wins on the final day of play at the Skidmore Classic on Saturday at the Williamson Sports Center.
The Camels opened the day with a 3-1 victory over Nazareth College in the morning session.
Mila Chan (San Francisco, Calif.) and
Katherine Randall (Chicago, Ill.) each recorded double-doubles in the match. Chan hit .485 and finished with a season-high 18 kills to go with 13 digs, and Randall contributed 10 kills and 12 digs.
In the second game, Conn topped SUNY Plattsburgh in straight sets to finish unbeaten (3-0) at the Classic. The duo of Randall and Chan continued to impress, with the former supplying 11 kills and the latter chipping in eight.
Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) and
Grace Anderson (Pawling, N.Y.) also finished with six kills apiece.
Conn improved to 4-0 overall on the season, the program's best start since 2017. The Camels will next host Elms College on Wednesday, September 11 at 6:00 p.m.
Game 1 – Conn College 3, Nazareth 1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-20)
A 6-0 start put Nazareth in the driver's seat in the opening set. The Golden Flyers never trailed and closed out the stanza with five straight points to take the early lead in the match.
Conn responded in the second, snapping a 16-16 stalemate with a 6-1 run that included two kills and an ace by Chan. She recorded five kills in the set as the Camels evened things up at 1-1.
An early 8-0 run on the serve of
Caroline Festersen (Omaha, Neb.) gave Conn a 10-2 lead in the third. Festersen supplied two aces during the spurt while Chan and Wartelle combined for five kills. The Golden Flyers never made a serious challenge the rest of the way and fell behind 2-1 heading into the fourth.
Chan fueled the Camels with six kills in the final set, none bigger than the one that snapped a 20-20 tie late in the stanza. Conn went on to win the next four points to close out the match, with Chan picking up her 18th kill of the contest on the penultimate point.
Josie Kelly (Solana Beach, Calif.) handed out a season-high 36 assists and added three service aces. Festersen also finished with three aces and eight digs in the contest.
Game 2 – Conn College 3, SUNY Plattsburgh 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-14)
Trailing 8-7 in the opening set, the Camels rocketed into the lead behind a 9-1 run that included a pair of kills from both Randall and
Evie Lockwood Mullaney (Needham, Mass.). Later, after the Cardinals crept back to within 23-20, Randall's fourth kill of the set helped secure a 1-0 start to the match.
The second set featured eight ties and five lead changes, though the Camels never trailed after pulling ahead 11-9. Conn later won seven of the final eight points to take the 2-0 advantage.
The Camels led 10-8 in the final set when a 6-0 spurt helped them cruise to the finish. Conn then used another 6-0 run to close out the match, with kills by
Zoe Watts (Chicago, Ill.), Randall and
Sienna McCormack (Larkspur, Calif.) rounding out the final points.
Conn hit a season-high .330 in the match, committing only nine errors on 97 swings. Kelly and McCormack combined for 27 of the Camels' 32 assists, and Chan tacked on three aces and five block assists.
