NEWPORT, R.I. – The Connecticut College volleyball team held on for a 3-2 victory over Salve Regina University on Tuesday night in non-conference action at the Rodgers Recreation Center.
The Camels won by set scores of 25-13, 22-25, 25-23, 13-25 and 15-12.
Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) paced the offense with nine kills and added three aces and four blocks, and
Vibha Sheth (Austin, Texas) chipped in seven kills while
Lexi Rosenblatt (Austin, Texas) and
Aubrie Letourneau (Mattapoisett, Mass.) combined for 19 assists.
In the opening set, Conn raced out to a 16-6 advantage and cruised to the finish.
Taylor Chatigny (Naples, Fla.) supplied three kills in the frame as the Camels jumped out to an early 1-0 lead.
The Seahawks tightened things up in the second. With the score tied at 22-22, Salve Regina captured the next three points to even up the match.
Conn came out on top in a closely-contested third set that was tied at 21-21. Wartelle had a big block to put the Camels up by two, and moments later Letourneau provided a quick kill to secure set point.
Lauren Shurling and Anouk Jansen combined for eight kills in the fourth as the Seahawks once again pulled even. Salve Regina never trailed in the set and limited the Camels to only five kills on 26 swings.
In the deciding fifth set, the Camels got out to a 3-0 start thanks to a block and kill by
Tilde Keatley (Pasadena, Calif.). Conn bumped the lead to 8-2 before the Seahawks clawed their way back, winning seven of the next nine points to close the gap to 10-9. After Salve Regina tied the score at 12-12, the hosts lost momentum with a pair of errors, and a final kill by Keatley gave Conn its first victory of the young season.
Conn (1-2 overall) will next play at Coast Guard Academy on Friday, September 11 at 6:00 p.m.
