West Hartford, CT - The University of Hartford volleyball team opened the 2007 season with a 3-0 loss to the Connecticut Huskies at the Sports Center on Sunday evening. Connecticut won the match with scores of 30-20, 30-25 and 30-16. The match was the season opener for both teams.
Hartford was led by senior Jennifer Monroy, who finished with nine kills, tying the match high. Hallie Fullagar finished the match with seven kills, while newcomer Katie O'Hara added six. Rookie Lindsay Ford was called upon as the starting setter and finished the match with a team best 17 assists. Erica Paulson took over setting responsibilities in the final game and finished with 10 assists.
The teams kept it close in the early going of the first game, before the Huskies made their first run of 5-1 to take a 10-7 lead. The Huskies pulled farther ahead with a 6-1 run, to take a 17-10 lead. The run began with back-to-back service aces for Sade Chambers. The Hawks made a small run to pull within five on a service ace from Maddison Molyneux, a Huskies error and a kill from Monroy.
Hartford pulled within three, but would get no closer, on a service ace from Ford and a Huskies error. Connecticut wasn't going to let it slip away, scoring seven of the final eight points to take the first game by a 10 point margin. The Hawks finished the first game with 12 kills compared to just nine for the opponent. Monroy and O'Hara each finished with three kills for the home team.
The second game never saw a lead more than five for either team. The game saw a total of 12 ties before, Connecticut pulled ahead by three, never to look back. Within the first 22 points of the match, there were seven ties, before Connecticut pulled ahead with five unanswered points. The Huskies run saw a pair of kills for Lauren Lamberti and an ace for Rebecca Murray.
After regrouping during a timeout, Hartford pulled back into the game, tying the score at 18 after scoring seven of the next eight points. The Hawks saw kills from three different players during the run. After four additional ties, the Huskies scored four-straight points to take a 26-23 lead. After a pair of points for Hartford, the Huskies took control with an ace for Murray and a Kill from Lamberti to put the game in the books.
Connecticut controlled the final game from the first serve pulling out to a 12-4 lead in the early moments. Hartford would get as close as 18-11, but the Connecticut offense was to strong and took home the first win of the season.
The Hawks will be back in action on Sunday afternoon, when they welcome Manhattan to the Sports Center for a 2:00 p.m. start.
