WEST HARTFORD, Conn. —The Hartford volleyball team dropped a pair of matches at the Hartford Hawks Invitational on Friday. Falling to Lafayette, 3-1, in their home opener, the Hawks stormed back from a two-set deficit to force a fifth set against UMES, but came up short of the comeback bid in the nightcap.
LAFAYETTE 3, HARTFORD 1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17)
- SET ONE:The Hawks held Lafayette to .189 hitting in the opening set to cruise to the 25-17 victory. Lindsay delivered five of her 17 kills in that stretch, as the Hawks quickly jumped out to a five-point lead (8-3), and never looked back.
- SET TWO:Hartford opened up set two with an early lead, but Lafayette quickly clawed back in to take its first advantage at 7-6. With the Leopards holding on to an 11-10 edge, Lafayette built a large enough cushion with a 4-1 spurt to hold on for the win.
- SET THREE: Despite a solid offensive showing that featured .520 hitting and 16 kills, the Hawks were unable to overcome a quick Lafayette start in the third set. Hartford, which trailed the entire set, clawed back from a 19-15 deficit to pull within one at 22-21, but Lafayette ended strong and sealed the 25-22 victory with a service ace from Kelly Austin.
- SET FOUR:Four early lead changes saw Hartford and Lafayette play to a 10-10 tie in the fourth set. The Leopards got hot, though, scoring the next five points to build a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the match.
- HARTFORD NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:Hartford hit .376 on the match … Bridges delivered 20 kills, while Lindsay added 17 … Anderson compiled 46 assists.
UMES 3, HARTFORD 2 (26-24, 25-19, 23-25, 19-25, 15-11)
- SET ONE:A close battle in the first set led to UMES breaking open a 19-19 tie and taking a 22-19 edge. But with the visiting team sitting at set point, the Hawks stormed back to draw the score even at 24-24 on a Megan Anderson service ace. Hartford was unable to complete the comeback, though, as a UMES kill and a Hawks' attack error sealed the first set, 26-24.
- SET TWO:A back-and-forth battle led to an 11-11 tie, before UMES scored seven of the next nine points to go up, 18-13. The Hawks managed to close the gap down to three (20-17), but UMES cruised to the 25-19 victory.
- SET THREE: Despite giving up an early lead, the Hawks rolled late, breaking open a 16-16 stalemate by rattling off a 5-1 rally. With Hartford leading, 24-20, UMES rallied to close the gap to two, but the home team held off the late rally, securing the set on a UMES service error.
- SET FOUR:A fast start allowed the Hawks to build an early advantage that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the set. Scoring four of the first five points, Hartford pushed ahead by as many as eight at 20-12. Despite coming within three at 21-18, UMES had no chance at a comeback, as the Hawks forced a fifth set by scoring four of the final five points.
- SET FIVE:UMES jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the final set. Hartford came back late, slashing the deficit in half, but ran out of time as the visiting squad took the 15-11 decision.
- HARTFORD NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:Bridges and Lindsay combined for 13 kills apiece, while Anderson collected 38 assists … Lindsay added 23 digs for a double-double … freshman Greta De Gaspar paced the defense with 24 digs, while junior Brittany Braun registered five blocks … Alexis Lee led UMES with 17 kills.
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks return to action with two more matches on Saturday. Hartford will first host St. Francis Brooklyn at 1 p.m., before taking on in-state rival CCSU at 7 p.m.
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