NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College volleyball team suffered a 3-1 setback against Amherst College on Friday night in a NESCAC clash at Luce Field House.
The Mammoths collected their first league win of the season by set scores of 25-17, 16-25, 25-22 and 25-22. Raegan Lentz led all players with 12 kills while Gabrielle Hines added 10 as Amherst improved to 8-5 overall (1-3 NESCAC).
Tilde Keatley (Pasadena, Calif.) and
Vibha Sheth (Austin, Texas) paced the Camels with 11 kills apiece, and
Emilie Ferdinand (Stoneham, Mass.) came off the bench to chip in nine.
Lexi Rosenblatt (Austin, Texas) and
Aubrie Letourneau (Mattapoisett, Mass.) handed out a combined 40 assists while
Taylor Merrifield (Honolulu, Hawaii) finished with a match-high 19 digs.
Conn kept it close in the opening set until Amherst pulled away behind a 6-1 spurt and grabbed a 22-15 advantage. Lentz then supplied a kill and a block as the Mammoths secured the final three points to go up 1-0 in the match.
The Camels bounced back in the second set and used an 11-2 run to pull ahead 17-7. Sheth led the way with four kills in the frame while Keatley and
Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) tacked on three apiece.
After sitting out the first two sets, Hines came off the bench in the third and made an immediate impact for the Mammoths with five kills on eight swings. Two of those kills came during a 4-0 stretch that gave Amherst the lead for good at 12-8, although a 5-0 spurt by the Camels later cut the deficit to 21-20. The visitors sewed up the set behind kills by Abby Nichols and Lentz to go up 2-1 in the match.
Conn fell into a 13-4 hole in the fourth set but responded with an 8-1 run to get back into the mix. The Camels tied the match three times before taking their first lead at 20-19, only for the Mammoths to counter with four straight points to regain momentum. A service error later brought Amherst to match point, and on the ensuing rally it was Hines who recorded her final kill of the night to close things out.
Conn's (4-7 overall, 1-3 NESCAC) will next host Wesleyan University on Friday, October 2 at 7:00 p.m.
