WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Hartford volleyball came up short in its season opener, falling in three sets to defending MEAC Tournament Champion Howard (1-0) before dropping a 3-0 decision to host-team George Washington (1-1) in the nightcap. Freshman Maddie Lindsay combined for 25 kills to lead the Hawks in her collegiate debut, while junior Abby Nash added 18 kills on the day. 
 
HOWARD 3, HARTFORD 0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20)

• SET ONE: After pushing ahead early, the Bison continued to rally as they pushed their lead to 18-9. Hartford refused to go down easy, as it stormed back to close the gap down to four. Facing a 23-19 deficit, the Hawks delivered three straight points to make it a one-point contest, but Howard scored two of the final three points to close out the set on top. 
• SET TWO:A tight start between the two teams saw Hartford take a slight advantage. But the Hawks let a 19-16 lead slip away, as Howard came back to score the 25-23 victory. 
• SET THREE: Howard jumped out to an early lead in the third set and never looked back. Going up by a 17-13 count, the Bison went on to close out the match with a 25-23 win.
• NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS: Junior Megan Anderson notched 24 assists … Robin Helms and Greta De Gaspar joined Lindsay in making their collegiate debuts.

 
GEORGE WASHINGTON 3, HARTFORD 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-21)

• SET ONE: George Washington, which hit .391 in the opening set, opened the match with an 11-7 lead and never looked back. The Hawks would close the gap to 11-9 on back-to-back kills by Anderson and junior Abby Nash, but GW used a 6-2 run to push ahead, 17-11, before closing out the set by a 25-17 final. 
• SET TWO:Taking an early 7-4 lead behind a block by Helms and a kill by Lindsay, the Hawks pushed ahead, 12-7, on back-to-back blocks. But Hartford let the lead slip away, as a 5-0 run fueled by two straight blocks tied up the set at 12-12. The score continued to go back-and-forth, as the two teams played to an 18-18 tie before the Colonials would pull away and take the lead for good. 
• SET THREE: Another tightly contested start saw the Hawk and Colonials play to a 9-9 deadlock. GW would take a slight 14-11, but Hartford responded by rattling off four straight points to go up, 15-14. That would be the Hawks last lead of the match, though, as the Colonials used a 6-0 run to build a 20-15 cushion and score the eventual 25-21 win.
• NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS: Lindsay and Bridges led the way in kills, delivering 13 and 11, respectively … De Gaspar recorded 13 digs … Braun and Robin each tallied three blocks to lead the defense … GW hit .268 as a team in the nightcap.

 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks conclude action at the George Washington Invitational on Saturday morning, when they take on American. First serve is slated for 11 a.m.