LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Jenna Bridges and sophomore Brittany Braun combined for 27 kills as the Hartford volleyball team earned its first America East victory of the season by knocking off UMass Lowell in straight sets Sunday afternoon. 
 
Bridges led the Hawks with 16 kills for her 12th-straight match with double-digit kill totals for Hartford, which climbs to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in the America East. Madi Bell hit a match high .476, as the River Hawks fall to 1-15 and 0-3 in conference play.
 
HARTFORD 3, UMASS LOWELL 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21)

• SET ONE: Tied at 10, Hartford went on an 11-6 run to open up a five point gap on the River Hawks at 21-16. UMass Lowell pulled within three (21-18) before the Hawks scored four of the final five points to win the opening set. Sophomore Daisy Eklund capped off the rally with a kill. 
• SET TWO: After Hartford held a five point advantage (15-10) midway through the second, the River Hawks climbed back into the set behind the strength of a 9-4 run to take a 19-18 edge. The Hawks responded with a run of their own, though, scoring seven of the final nine points behind three kills by Bridges to move ahead 2-0. 
• SET THREE: The final set was a battle, as the two teams were tied 14 times. Hartford, however, regained control down the stretch. Leading by one at 20-19, the Hawks embarked on a 5-2 run to close things out and earn the straight-set victory over UMass-Lowell.
• NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS: Braun finished with a season-high six blocks while sophomore setter Megan Anderson dished out 38 assists ... freshman Alex Lucero finished with eight digs to lead all players … Lade Adeniyi, Grace Burkett and Morgan Given each finished with five kills for the River Hawks.

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks return home for five of their next six matches starting with UAlbany on Sunday, Oct. 7th. Opening serve for the America East match is 4 p.m..