THE BASICS:

MATCH 1 RESULT: LSU 3, Hartford 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-20)
MATCH 2 RESULT: Iona 3, Hartford 2 (26-24, 21-25, 21-25, 25-14, 15-13)
LOCATION: Guyer Gym (Storrs, Conn.)
RECORDS: Hartford (0-5), LSU (4-0), Iona (2-3)

THE LEAD:
The Hartford volleyball team fell in a pair of hard-fought matches in the opening day at the Dog Pound Challenge, hosted by Connecticut. The Hawks were bested by undefeated LSU in the morning session, then suffered a heartbreaking loss to Iona in five in the afternoon.
 
MATCH 1: LSU 3, HARTFORD 0
Abby Nash continued her strong debut season, tallying eight kills and hitting .316, but a strong defensive performance led Southeastern Conference foe LSU past the Hawks in the opening match of the day. Jacqui Armer led all players with nine kills in the win for the Tigers.
 
MATCH 1 SET-BY-SET
• LSU opened an early 6-3 lead, but the Hawks came soaring back with five of the next six points, as a block by Jenna Bridges and Brittany Braun put Hartford up 8-7. LSU rallied, though, and slowly built a 20-14 lead. The Hawks delivered another charge, with Paulina Modestow capping a run of four-straight points to cut it to 20-18, and the teams traded points to 24-22, but the Tigers were able to finish off the opening set.
• In the second, the two squads went toe-to-toe early on, with Hartford taking an 11-9 lead on a block by Katy Henchy and Alyse Wenzel. The Hawks pushed the lead to three at 18-15 on a Bridges kill, then traded points to a 19-16 score. But the Tigers went on a run, scoring nine of the last 10 points to take the set.
• The Hawks came out roaring in the third, jumping out to a 7-1 lead on the strength of the block. But LSU regained the momentum and responded in kind, taking a 14-9 advantage. The Hawks slowly chipped away, and finally drew even once again at 18-18 on a Nash kill. But the Tigers were able to halt the momentum after a timeout, and went on to finish the match.
  
MATCH 2: IONA 3, HARTFORD 2
Bridges led a balanced attack with 10 kills and delivered a career-best six aces, but Iona delivered a late comeback to best the Hawks in five. Claire Archibald had a match-high 23 kills in the win for the Gaels. Megan Anderson added five aces in a losing effort, as the Hawks delivered 16 aces total in the match.
 
MATCH 2 SET-BY-SET
•  The Gaels got out to a 9-4 lead in the opening stanza, but the Hawks rallied to tie the score at 11 on a Daisy Eklund ace. Iona pushed back ahead 14-11, but the Hawks surged ahead with six-straight points, four on Anderson aces, to open an 18-15 advantage. The Hawks pushed the lead to 24-22, but Iona rallied for four-straight points to take the first set.
• The Hawks took control early in the second, with a pair of Henchy kills leading Hartford to a 7-3 edge. Iona refused to wilt, though, and gained a 10-9 edge. After the teams traded points to 12-11, Hartford rolled off seven in a row with Bridges at the serve to gain an 18-12 advantage. Bridges finished off the set with a kill to tie things at 1-1.
• In the third, the teams were locked in a tight battle throughout, with eight ties in the first 19 points. But the Hawks netted five of the next six points, including a kill and a block from Braun, then finished it off with another Braun kill, earning a 25-21 triumph.
• Iona took control early in the fourth, jumping out to an 8-2 advantage. The Hawks were able to cut it back to four on a few occasions, but the Gaels regained momentum en route to a 25-14.
• The fifth saw Hartford edge ahead early in the stanza, opening a 12-7 lead on a Bridges ace, but Iona finished with a flurry, scoring the last six points of the match to take a 15-13 victory.
  
UP NEXT:
The Hawks will wrap up the Dog Pound Challenge on Saturday at 2 p.m. against host UConn. Live stats and video will be available through HartfordHawks.com.