THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 3, Stony Brook 1 (25-21, 25-18, 8-25, 25-15)
LOCATION: Hartford Volleyball Gym (West Hartford, Conn.)
RECORDS: Hartford (5-14, 2-4 America East), Stony Brook (6-15, 2-4)

THE LEAD:
Paulina Modestow delivered 14 kills, as the Hartford volleyball team earned a crucial win over Stony Brook on Saturday night. The Hawks moved into a tie with the Seawolves, one game back of the final playoff spot, halfway through the conference season.
 
Jordyn Kachmar finished off a terrific weekend with 19 digs to lead all players, while Modestow added 10 of her own. Olivia Rougeau had a strong performance with nine kills, while Astrid Mangual delivered 37 assists in the victory.
 
Taylor Wilson led all players with 16 kills for the Seawolves, while LeAnne Sakowicz delivered eight kills, 13 assists and 11 digs for Stony Brook in the loss.



KALLICK'S TAKE
"Our girls have worked so hard all year long and we've been seeing the progress every day in the gym in practice. For us to come back from a tough, five-set battle against UMBC last night and come out with the same aggressiveness tonight was awesome. I'm ecstatic for our players, they worked so hard and played together as a team and we got the result we needed."
 
SET-BY-SET
• The two teams battled for control in the opening set, with Stony Brook pulling ahead 9-7 early on in the stanza. But a Rougeau kill sent Hartford on a run where it scored seven of the next eight and opened a 14-10 advantage. The Hawks pushed the lead to 21-14 on a Katy Henchy solo block, but SBU rallied to cut the advantage to 23-21. Hartford was able to steady, though, and a kill by Henchy and a Paola Llerandi ace finished off the victory.
• The second set had a similar start, with the two squads battling to an 11-11 score. But a pair of Modestow kills started a four-point run for the Hawks to take a 15-11 lead. SBU responded with three straight to cut the lead to one, and the teams traded points to a 17-15 score. Hartford then embarked on a huge run with Kachmar at the serve, rolling off five in a row, including kills by Henchy and Rougeau, and coasted to a 25-18 victory.
• The third was an enigma for the Hawks, as Stony Brook jumped out to an 11-1 lead with strong work by Kardasia Hitchcock and Maria Poole on the serve. Hartford cut it to 15-5 at one point, but the Seawolves never looked back from their early lead in a 25-8 win.
• But Hartford took the momentum right back in the fourth, as a Modestow kill helped the Hawks to a 2-0 lead. SBU came right back with six of the next seven for a 6-3 lead, but Hartford had an answer of its own, delivering eight of the next nine, mostly with Modestow at the serve, for an 11-7 lead. Stony Brook briefly stopped the momentum, but Hartford came roaring back with Nicole Etta serving, and Modestow finished off the match with her 14^th kill of the night. In the fourth, the sophomore had seven kills and no errors on 11 attempts.

UP NEXT:
Hartford will return to the Hartford Volleyball Gym to take on UMass Lowell on Saturday, Oct. 22, for a 7 p.m. start. Admission is free to all Hartford Volleyball home matches.