CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Connecticut College women's volleyball team opened play at the 2025 MIT Invitational with a 3-1 victory over Suffolk University on Friday evening at Rockwell Cage.

The Camels won by set scores of 25-14, 25-18, 24-26 and 25-21 to improve to 2-0 on the season. Riley Lord (Exeter, N.H.) supplied a match-high 13 kills on 28 swings and also contributed a career-high seven aces. Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) chipped in nine kills while Vibha Sheth (Austin, Texas) added seven, and Aubrie Letourneau (Mattapoisett, Mass.) paced the offense with 25 assists.

Conn got off to a great start, winning the first five points of the opening set en route to a double-digit lead. Both Lord and Wartelle had three kills apiece in the frame, and the Camels quickly vaulted out to a 1-0 advantage. 

The momentum carried into the second set as another early flurry yielded an 8-4 Conn lead. The Camels built the margin to as many as eight as Lord and Wartelle once again led the offense with three kills each.

Things got tighter in the third set as the Rams rallied to stay alive. Suffolk led 23-21 before kills from Lord and Sheth evened the score. However, the Rams recorded three of the next four points to steal the set and extend the match.

After digging themselves into an 8-2 hole to start the fourth set, the Camels clawed back with an 8-2 spurt to take the lead at 13-12. Later, a kill by Zoe Watts (Chicago, Ill.) put Conn on top 18-14, but Suffolk fired back with four consecutive points to pull even. 

The Camels were strong down the stretch, taking five of the final six points to secure the victory. Lord played a big role in the sequence, contributing a solo block, kill and service ace in the final moments. 

Conn finished with 18 service aces in the contest, its highest single game total since 2023. Seven different players contributed to the total, including seven aces from Lord and three apiece for Wartelle and Taylor Merrifield (Honolulu, Hawaii).

Conn will wrap up play at the MIT Invitational with a pair of matches on Saturday, September 6. The Camels will take on Brandeis University at 11:00 a.m. before facing the host Engineers at 3:00 p.m.