BOX SCORE vs. BRYANT
BOX SCORE vs. UMKC
West Point, N.Y. – The University of Hartford volleyball team closed out the Army Invitational with a pair of victories on Saturday. The Hawks opened the day with a five-set victory over Bryant, before scoring a three-set win over UMKC in their final match. The Hawks improve to 2-1 overall this season. Leading the Hawks throughout the weekend were junior Kami Nethersole and freshman setter Jackie Tamburri who were both named to the All-Tournament team.
“I thought we learned a lot about the status of our team this weekend,” said head coach Don Ferguson. “We were hesitant in the first match against Army. However, I thought we showed great composure against a relenting Bryant squad. I was a bit nervous about our energy level playing back to back after a five game match, but the team impressed me by responding to the challenge.
Although we had impressive individual achievements, it was our fortitude as a team and the diversity of our personnel that took center stage.”
Overall for the weekend, (Kami) Nethersole finished with 52 kills, leading the team in all three matches. She also led the team defensively with 47 total digs, while sporting a .222 hitting percentage with 18 errors in 153 total attacks. Tamburri finished the weekend with 123 total assists, setting her career-high mark with 63 in the five-set win over Bryant.
In the early game, the teams traded victories throughout the match. The Hawks won the first set by a 25-16 score before dropping the second with a 27-29 final. After winning the third set 25-19, the Bulldogs forced a fifth and deciding set with a 23-25 score. The final set finished in favor of the Hawks by a 17-15 margin leading to the Hawks first victory in 2011.
(Kami) Nethersole finished the Bryant match with 26 total kills, two shy of her career high. She sported a .279 hitting percetange with seven errors in 68 total attacks. Leading all hitters in the percentage category was senior Michelle Cordell who finished with a .310 average with 14 attacks and five errors in 29 total attempts. Also finishing with double digit kills was sophomore Lindsay Anderson who finished with a career-high 12 and rookie Sareeta Nethersole finished her first match with double figures adding 10.
Tamburri's 63 assists in the match partnered with 18 digs for her second double double of the season. Her 18 digs were second best on the team behind both Cordell and sophomore Dionna Kirton who each finished with a career-high of 24 digs.
For the match, the Hawks finished with a .190 hitting percentage with 71 total kills and 31 erroprs for a .210 hitting percentage. Defensively the Hawks held Bryant to a .083 hitting percentage, finishing with 53 kills and 35 errors in 218 total attacks.
(Kami) Nethersole again led the Hawks in the final match of the weekend, finished with 14 kills against UMKC as the Hawks scored their second victory of the season with scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-19. Joining her with double figure kills was Cordell who finished with 11. Cordell led the team's hitters with a .381 final percentage with just three errors in 21 total attempts.
Tamburri finished the third match of her career with31 assists. Cordell also led the team defensively with 14 digs, while (Sareeta) Nethersole finished with 11. The Hawks held UMKC to a .038 hitting percentage with 29 kills and 25 errors in 106 total attempts.
The Hawks will return to action on Wednesday when they welcome the Marist Red Foxes to West Hartford for the home opener. The two teams are set to battle at 6:00 p.m. at the Sports Center.
