ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The University of Hartford volleyball team forced a fifth game against the host Navy Mids on Friday evening's season opener in Annapolis but fell by a 3-2 final (13-25, 25-19, 25-21, 18-25, 15-13). Hartford was led by sophomore Sareeta Nethersole who finished with a career-best 19 kills an impressive .548 attack percentage.

Nethersole, whose 19 kills led all players in the match, led a trio of Hawks who finished with double figures kills followed by junior Lindsay Anderson who tied her career high with 13 kills. Nethersole's older sister Kami Nethersole also chipped in double figures with 10 kills.

Overall as a team, the Hawks hit .222 with 60 total kills and 28 errors in 144 total attempts. (Sareeta) Nethersole's .548 led the primary hitters as she finished with just two errors in 31 total attacks. Fellow classmate and setter Jackie Tamburri finished with a team-high .750 hitting average as she contributed six kills in eight attempts without an error. Her six kills also tied a career-high for the Croton-on-Hudson native. Tamburri also led the Hawks with 49 assists.

Defensively, the Hawks were led by (Kami) Nethersole who finished with 13 digs while younger sibling (Sareeta) Nethersole added 10. Both finished with double doubles the 25th and 12th respectively for the pair. The Hawks also added five total blocks to their efforts with four different players all finished with two apiece. Tamburri and (Sareeta) Nethersole each finished with three service aces to lead all players in the match.

Hartford won the opening set with a 25-13 margin with (Sareeta) Nethersole leading the team with four kills. The Hawks hit an impressive .417 in that opening set with 14 kills and four errors in 24 total attacks. The Midshipmen returned the favor by taking a 2-1 lead in the match with 25-19 and 25-21 victories in the second and third sets, respectively. The Hawks were outhit in both of those matches.

Hartford rebounded to tie the match at two sets apiece forcing the fifth and deciding set, something they are very familiar with after playing in 14 five-set matches in 2011. The Hawks would come up short in the final set falling by a 15-13 margin. The Hawks fell behind early after the home team opened the set with the first three points on two kills and a Hawks ball handling error. The visitors battled back to tie the game on six different occasions before the taking their first lead of the match on a kills from (Sareeta) Nethersole and an ace from Dionna Kirton. The hosts then took two of the next three points to tie the game at 12 before scoring the victory with four of the final five points of the match.

The Hawks will continue play at the Kristen Dickmann Memorial Tournament on Saturday with a pair of matches. Hartford will play back-to-back beginning with Nebraska-Omaha at 1:00 p.m. before taking on the Norfolk State Spartans at 4:00 p.m. GameTracker Live Stats