BOX SCORE
West Hartford, Conn. – The Hartford volleyball team sent its seniors off in impressive fashion with a three-set (25-20, 25-22, 25-21) win over Providence in a key America East match-up as the seven league teams volley for one of four positions in the upcoming America East Championship. With the victory, the Hawks improve to 12-14 overall and 3-5 in the America East, while Providence falls to 7-18 overall and 1-6 in league action.
The Hawks came out of the gates slow, allowing Providence to take the first two points in the first set and then allowing a 4-1 advantage for the visitors. Hartford would battle to tie the score at six and seven before storming out to a 13-9 lead, one they would never look back from. The Hawks biggest lead in the match came in a 20-14 advantage, which was made possible by a service ace from senior Danielle Etta. Sophomore Lindsay Anderson would put the first set in the books with a kill off a set from rookie Jackie Tamburri.
The second set would remain close through the first 14 points, which included seven ties, until a three point rally gave the Hawks a 10-7 advantage they would keep to the end. The Hawks would see a largest lead of four on a few different occasions, with the Friars pulling within reach late in the match, using a two point rally to pull within a 24-22 deficit. The Hawks would regroup and use a kill from sophomore Taylor McCreery to take the 2-0 advantage in the match.
In the final set, Hartford came out of the gates swinging into an early two-point advantage, but the Friars battled to take a two point lead of their own with a 4-1 run that gave them a 14-12 advantage. Hartford responded with back-to-back kills from Anderson that led to a seven point rally and a 19-15 lead for the home team. Senior Michelle Cordell would put the match away with a kill off a Tamburri set.
Cordell and junior Kami Nethersole led all players in the match as the only two with double figure kills, each with 11. The Hawks as a team hit .207 for the match, combining for 47 kills and 24 errors in 111 total attempts. Tamburri led the way for the Hawks with a .667 hitting average not hitting into an error in six attempts, finishing with four kills. Cordell finished with a .333 average with four errors in 21 total attempts. Also hitting well for the Hawks was McCreery with nine kills and Anderson with seven, both of which hit .200 or better.
Defensively, the Hawks were led by Tamburri and Nethersole who each chipped in nine digs, while McCreery added six and Kirton and Sareeta Nethersole added five. Tamburri finished the match with 36 assists, needing just 124 more to break the single season record for assists in a season since the start of rally scoring. The rookie setter became just the third player at Hartford to record 1,000 assists in a single season in the Hawks last match at Central Connecticut. Also among the defensive leaders was Anderson who led all players with six total blocks.
Hartford will return to action on Friday, November 4 when they travel to Stony Brook, beginning a four-game road swing. The Hawks and Seawolves are schedule for a 7:00 p.m. start. The Seawolves squeezed out of West Hartford with a five-set victory over Hartford in the first meeting this season.
