THE BASICS:

MATCH 1 RESULT: Niagara 3, Hartford 1 (25-14, 24-26, 25-19, 26-24)
MATCH 2 RESULT: Hartford 3, NJIT 1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-21)
LOCATION: Hartford VB Gym (West Hartford, Conn.)
RECORDS: Hartford (1-7), Niagara (3-5), NJIT (2-5)

THE LEAD:
The Hartford volleyball team earned a split in the opening day of its home tournament, besting NJIT 3-1 in the evening match after falling in a hard-fought affair against Niagara in the afternoon. Katy Henchy finished with double-digit kills in each match for the home squad.
 


MATCH 1: NIAGARA 3, HARTFORD 1
Henchy matched her season high with 13 kills, but Niagara got the key points when it mattered most to earn a 3-1 victory in the first match of the day. Caroline Leitch (12) and Nicole Matheis (11) each finished with double-digit kills in the win for the Purple Eagles.
 
Nicole Etta led the Hawks with 20 digs in a losing effort, while Daisy Eklund added 14 and Megan Scherer delivered 10. Henchy added four blocks and Alyse Wenzel had seven kills and five blocks of her own for the Hawks.
 
MATCH 1 SET-BY-SET
• Niagara came strong out of the gate, building a 14-5 lead following a service ace. The Hawks staged a rally in the middle of the set, trimming it to 18-10, but the Purple Eagles finished strong to take the opening stanza.
• In the second, the Purple Eagles had the upper hand early, opening a 9-5 lead and then trading points to a 14-9 score. The Hawks rallied with an Abby Nash kill cutting the lead to two. After another back-and-forth, Niagara pushed the advantage to 22-17 when Hartford staged a vicious rally. A Paulina Modestow kill sent the home squad on a 7-1 run that gave it a 24-23 lead after another Nash kill. Niagara staved off the Hawks on the next point, but a block by Henchy and Wenzel was followed by a Purple Eagle attack error for a 26-24 Hawks win.
• Hartford got out to a solid start in the third, opening a 4-1 lead after a Henchy kill. But Niagara slowly chipped away, eventually taking a 14-8 advantage. The Hawks cut it back to 14-11 following an Eklund kill, but Niagara had an answer for every Hartford rally and took a 25-19 victory.
• Niagara looked destined for a fourth-set victory early on, eventually opening a 20-15 lead. But the home squad staged a furious rally, rolling off six-straight points for a 21-20 edge following a Wenzel block. The visitors turned the momentum and went on a rally of their own for a 24-22 lead, but the Hawks delivered back-to-back points, the latter of the two on a block by Henchy and Brittany Braun that made it 24-all. Niagara was able to score the last two points, though, and earned the 26-24 win to take the match.
  
MATCH 2: HARTFORD 3, NJIT 1
Nash led all players with 12 kills and Henchy added 11 as the Hawks landed their first victory of the 2017 season. Wenzel had a strong match for the Hawks, notching seven kills on 10 attempts without an error. Nash notched a double-double by adding a team-high 15 digs.
 
Tess Albyn led the Highlanders with 10 kills, while Adrianna Nieto posted a match-high 20 digs.
 
MATCH 2 SET-BY-SET
• The two teams came out of the gates even, with a tie at 12 midway through the set. NJIT was able to string together a mini-run, and pushed ahead 19-13. The home squad staged a rally at that point, cutting it back down to two at 21-19, but was unable to finish it off, as the Highlanders took the first, 25-22.
• The second set saw another even start, with the Hawks holding a narrow, 13-12 lead at the halfway point. But a Brittany Braun kill sent the Hawks on a 6-2 run, capped by a Etta ace, to push the lead to 19-14. After the teams traded points, the home squad embarked on a string of four-straight points, the last a Henchy kill, and went on to a 25-18 win.
• In the third, things were tight early on, with Hartford holding a slight, 11-9 edge. But with Astrid Mangual Duran at the serve, the Hawks rolled off six in a row to make it 17-9, finally pushing it to 22-10 following another Henchy kill. The home squad went on to a 25-12 victory, as Nash capped things off with a kill of her own.
• The Hawks got out to a slow start in the fourth, with the visitors opening a 5-2 lead and then a 6-4 edge. Hartford then went on the rally again, with Nash serving the home squad to seven straight and an 11-6 advantage. Slowly, the Hawks began to build on that, as back-to-back aces by Megan Scherer pushed the lead to 21-14. NJIT staged a brief rally, but the Hawks finished off the set, 25-21.


UP NEXT:
The Hawks will conclude their home tournament with a match against Central Connecticut State on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Live stats will be available on HartfordHawks.com.