BOX SCORE

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - It looked like it could be a quick night for the Hartford volleyball team after it dropped the first set to visiting New Hampshire and fell behind in the second, 7-0. The Hawks charged back, though, overpowering the Wildcats and claiming a 25-18 victory in the second set. Hartford tried to mount similar comebacks in the third and fourth set and kept both close to the end, but ultimately fell to New Hampshire in four sets, 25-13, 18-25, 26-24, 25-19. Kami Nethersole and Michelle Cordell shared the team lead with 10 kills each, while Lindsay Ford had 35 assists and 10 digs for a double-double.

Less than 24 hours after finishing off a thrilling and tense five-set victory over Providence, the Hawks took some time to get their legs under them, dropping the first set 25-13. New Hampshire controlled play, firing to a .462 hitting percentage in the game compared to -.077 for the Hawks.

The second game started out with the Wildcats on a 7-0 run before Hartford got on the board thanks to a New Hampshire attack error. With Nethersole serving, the Hawks rattled off three straight points and stayed within striking distance for the next several side outs. Trailing 16-7, Dionna Kirton broke New Hampshire's serve with a kill set up by Ford, then took over the serve herself. As Kirton serveed, Hartford got the crowd back into the game and became more and more confident as it ran off the next six points, including one of the Hawks' 10 service aces on the day, to make the score 16-14.

Hartford quickly regained the serve, and took its first lead of the game at 18-17. They would not look back, as Ford closed the set with two aces to give Hartford a 25-18 victory.

The Hawks looked like they were making another remarkable comeback late in the third set. An evenly-played set throughout, New Hampshire pulled away at the end to take a 24-21 lead and was eyeing an opportunity to close things out. After a kill from Lindsay Anderson regained the serve for the Hawks, the Hawks got the next two do-or-die points to even things up at 24 apiece. New Hampshire recovered in time, however, and snuck away with a 26-24 advantage.

After another back-and-forth set in the fourth, the Hawks' tired legs finally appeared to catch up with them when New Hampshire grabbed five of the final seven points to put up a 25-19 victory, giving them a 3-1 overall match triumph.

The Hawks will be back in action on November 5 when they host UMBC at the Reich Family Pavilion at 6:00 p.m. The match, the Hawks' final home contest of the season, will serve as Senior Night for senior setter Lindsay Ford. Admission is free.