POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Hartford volleyball team closed out the 2012 Volley in the Valley hosted by Marist College with a 3-1 (25-23, 26-28, 25-16, 25-18) win over the NJIT Highlanders on Sunday afternoon. The Hawks (3-4 overall) were led by the Nethersole sisters who finished with a combined 27 kills. Both Sareeta Nethersole  and older sister Kami Nethersole were named to the All-Tournament Team for their combined efforts over the weekend.  

(Sareeta) Nethersole led all Hawks with 19 kills while (Kami) Nethersole finished just behind her with 18. Junior Dionna Kirton joined the pair in double figures with 12. All three finished with high hitting percentage with the younger Nethersole leading the trio with a .298 average with five errors in 47 total attacks. Kirton finished second among the three with a.233 average, also with five errors in 30 attempts. The older Nethersole closed out the match with a .226 average with six errors in 53 total attacks.

Also partaking in the hitting duties was junior's Lindsay Anderson and Taylor McCreery who finished with eight and five kills, respectively, and sophomore setter Jackie Tamburri who dumped in a pair of kills. As a team, the Hawks finished with a .232 hitting average combining for 64 kills and 23 errors in 177 total swings.

Tamburri marshaled the Hawks offense, finishing with 51 assists, her second match of the weekend, and season, with 50 or more assists. Defensively, five different players finished with double figure digs, four of which amassing double doubles. Leading all players was Kirton with 19 digs, while Tamburri added 14, (Sareeta) Nethersole 13 and (Kami) Nethersole 12. Rounding out the defensive leaders was Saara Carissimi who finished with 11 digs. The Hawks also finished with six total blocks, led by (Sareeta) Nethersole who finished with four total. Tamburri was just behind her with three.

Hartford returns to West Hartford for their next match, a mid-week tune-up against in-state rival Connecticut on Tuesday night. The Hawks and Huskies are scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start at the Reich Family Pavilion.