THE BASICS:


RESULT: Hartford 3, Brown 2 (16-25, 25-13, 25-23, 22-25, 15-12)
LOCATION: Pitt Center (Fairfield, Conn.)
RECORDS: Hartford (2-8), Brown (4-4)

THE LEAD:
The Hartford volleyball team earned a momentous, emotional victory on Friday night, topping Brown 3-2 in its first match of the Sacred Heart Invitational. A vicious rally in the fifth and final set turned the tide for the Hawks in the victory.
 
Katy Henchy led a balanced team effort with 13 kills, while Brittany Braun added 11 and Paulina Modestow and Jenna Bridges had nine apiece. Each of those four players contributed at least three blocks, while Alyse Wenzel led the effort at the net with seven blocks of her own. Modestow delivered 18 digs as well, while Abby Nash added 15 and Montrashay Worley posted 11. Megan Anderson led the squad with 21 assists and three service aces.
 
Sabrina Stillwell and Shirin Tooloee led Brown with 10 kills each, with Tooloee adding 11 digs. 
 
SET-BY-SET
• Brown got out to a solid start in the opening set, building a 9-4 lead in the early going. Hartford made several runs at the Bears, with a Braun kill trimming it to 13-9. But Brown rallied and pushed the lead to 20-12 on an Eliza Grover kill en route to a 25-16 victory.
• In the second, Brown took a slight, early 5-4 lead, but the Hawks went on a rally with Anderson at the serve. Hartford rolled off seven straight, including one on an Anderson ace, to build an 11-5 lead. The Bears trimmed it to 14-10, but the Hawks took control the rest of the way, as a Henchy kill put the finishing touch on a 25-13 victory.
• The third set saw some wild, back-and-forth swings, with a tremendous battle ensuing between the squads. Brown took a 6-3 lead, but Anderson again served the Hawks on a rally, delivering two aces in a 7-0 run to put Hartford ahead 10-6. The Bears rallied once more, and battled their way to a 17-14 lead, but the Hawks slowly chipped away to tie things up at 19. After Brown took a 22-19 edge, Hartford called timeout, and a Modestow kill swung the momentum, as the Hawks netted six of the last seven points with a Montrashay Worley ace delivering a 25-23 win.
• Hartford got out to an early 7-5 lead in the fourth, but Brown delivered a momentum swing with six-straight points to grab an 11-7 advantage. The Hawks chipped away and knotted things at 13 on a Braun kill before the teams swapped points to 15-all. The Bears ran off five in a row to make it 20-15. Hartford was able to trim the deficit to just one, at 23-22, but the Bears delivered consecutive points to take the set.
• The fifth started gloomily for the Hawks, with Brown opening a 4-1 lead. Slowly, the Hawks cut into the advantage, making it 7-6 on a Henchy kill, but the Bears rolled off three straight to make it 10-6. A Henchy kill swung the momentum, and back-to-back blocks were followed by a Brown error and a Wenzel kill that gave Hartford the lead. Consecutive Bear kills put the squad back ahead, but kills by Henchy, Nash and Bridges carried the Hawks to a 15-12 victory and a 3-2 triumph in the match.


UP NEXT:
The Hawks will close out the Sacred Heart Invitational on Saturday, where they face SHU and Lehigh. Hartford takes on Lehigh (10 a.m.) and Sacred Heart (6:30 p.m.) on Saturday.