NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Hartford volleyball team split its two matches on the first day of the Yale Invitational on Friday afternoon, dropping the opening match against Yale 3-0, before defeating Quinnipiac in five sets to earn its first win of the 2021 campaign. Freshman Camryn Luginbuhl led the way for the Hawks on the day with a total of 31 kills and 25 digs.

YALE 3, HARTFORD 0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-13)
SET ONE: The two sides played to a 13-13 tie in the set, before Yale took two straight points to push ahead 15-13, forcing a Hartford timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs went on a 5-2 run to push their lead to 20-15, before taking the set 25-20.

SET TWO: Both sides traded points to an 11-11 tie in the set until Yale pushed ahead to take a lead it would never relinquish, eventually holding on for the 25-18 set win.

SET THREE: Yale maintained momentum to take an early 12-4 lead in the set to force a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs built their lead to as much as 17-9, hanging on for the 25-13 set win and match win.

NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS: Camryn Luginbuhl led the Hawks with a team-high eight kills and added eight digs … Morgan Galligan tallied a team-high 16 assists and 10 digs for a double-double … Alex Lucero contributed a team-high 16 digs in the loss.

HARTFORD 3, QUINNIPIAC 2 (27-25, 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-13)
SET ONE: The Hawks jumped out to a 6-2 lead before the Bobcats battled back and the two sides traded points to a 25-25 tie. With the set tied, Valerie Diede and Uzezi Ijoma scored back-to-back kills to secure the 27-25 set win for the Hawks.

SET TWO: Hartford gained the early advantage again in the second set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead behind kills from Luginbuhl, Uzezi and Diede. However, Quinnipiac responded with a 10-6 run to tie the set at 12-12, forcing a Hartford timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats pushed their lead to 18-15 before the Hawks came back to cut the deficit to 19-18 to force a Quinnipiac timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bobcats pushed its lead to two points and maintained their distance en route to a 25-21 set win. 

SET THREE: The Hawks bounced back to open the set with a 7-1 run behind two kills from Luginbuhl to force a Quinnipiac timeout. The Bobcats responded with a 12-7 run to trim Hartford's lead to 15-13. However, the Hawks battled back with a to pull away from the Bobcats, 20-15, before taking the set 25-23.

SET FOUR: The two sides traded points to a 4-4 tie before the Bobcats rallied three straight points to take a 7-4 lead, forcing a Hartford timeout. Out of the timeout, Quinnipiac pushed its lead to 9-5, before Hartford rallied to cut the deficit to 11-9. However, the Bobcats responded with a 9-1 run to take a commanding 20-10 lead, eventually taking the set, 25-16.

SET FIVE: The Bobcats jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the set and maintained a two-point advantage throughout the set until Quinnipiac pushed the lead to 9-5. However, three straight attack errors by the Bobcats and a service ace from Lucero allowed the Hawks to tie the set at 9-9. The Bobcats took a 13-11 lead in the set, however the Hawks rallied off four straight points, capped by a kill from Luginbuhl to secure the set and match win.

NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS: Luginbuhl compiled career-highs of 23 kills and 17 digs for the double-double … Galligan totaled a career-high 51 assists in the victory … Lucero added 31 digs in the win.

NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 4, when they close play at the Yale Invitational with a 1 p.m. match against Syracuse

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