BOX SCORE
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – For the fifth time in all but one league match, the University of Hartford volleyball team played to five sets before a victory was decided and this time, the Hawks came out on top with a 3-2 win over the visiting Binghamton Bearcats at the Reich Family Pavilion on Sunday. Hartford improves to 11-12 overall with a mark of 2-4 in the America East while Binghamton drops to 10-13 (2-4 AE).
The Hawks jumped out to a two-set lead after scoring 25-21 and 25-18 wins to kick-off the afternoon. Binghamton rallied however and took two sets of its own (29-27, 25-23) to force the decisive fifth set. In the final set, the Hawks, who led by as many as six points at 10-4, pulled out the 15-12 victory to seal the match.
Three Hawks notched double digit kills with junior Kami Nethersole leading the way matching her season-high with 26, a match-high and her sixth match this season with 20-plus kills. Joining her in double figures was rookie Sareeta Nethersole and senior Michelle Cordell who recorded 14 and 11 kills, respectively. The duo also tallied double doubles while leading the Hawks defensively as (Sareeta) Nethersole recorded 20 digs and Cordell combined for 14.
Jackie Tamburri, a freshman, added 11 digs to go along with her 56 assists, which put her into the top-five for single season assists since the start of rally scoring, currently with 921. She was one of three Hawks to finish with three blocks (one solo, two block assists), joining Cordell (three block assists) and sophomore Lindsay Anderson (two solo, one block assist).
As a team, Hartford outhit Binghamton, finishing the match with a .257 attack percentage with 68 total kills and 20 errors in 187 swings. Binghamton recorded a .181 attack percentage, hitting into 36 errors with 73 kills in 204 attempts. Cordell finished with a .300 hitting average with a pair of errors in 68 opportunities while (Kami) Nethersole put up a .294 hitting average with six errors in 68 attempts.
Hartford returns to action on Friday, October 21 with a road trip to conference foe New Hampshire. Start time between the Hawks and Wildcats is slated for 7:00 p.m.
