WEST HARTFORD, Conn – The University of Hartford volleyball team dropped three-straight sets on Wednesday night to Amherst College (25-15, 25-17, 25-22). The Hawks dropped to 1-2 for the season.  

Rapid Recap: 

• The visiting Mammoths got off to an early start in set one, as they took a 6-0 lead to start things off. Hartford would retaliate slightly but not enough as the Mammoths proceeded to go on a 12-3 run with eight of those points coming unanswered, putting the score at 18-4. Later in the set the Hawks would fight back garnishing a 7-1 spurt of their own, capped off with three kills from sophomore Jordan Murphy (East Hampton, Conn.). It was not enough for the Hawks to come back as the Mammoths won the set 25-15.
• The Hawks started the second set with fire, taking a 3-0 lead with a stellar kill from freshman Tiffany Mendez (Bay Shore, N.Y.). Hartford and Amherst continued to battle trading points throughout this set. Junior Kylee Connally (Dallas, Texas) slammed a quick ace to cut the deficit to 14-13. The Mammoths answered with a 7-0 run. The Hawks continued to fight until the end of this set with kills from junior Sydney Ball (Enfield, Conn.) and Jo. Murphy. The Mammoths pulled away from the Hawks ending the second set 25-17. 
• Amherst College got off to another commanding lead at the start of the third set, as they would go up 6-3 through the first nine points. Hartford would find a way to bounce back going on a 5-0 run of their own punctuated by a pair of kills from Jo. Murphy and junior Juliana Robinshaw (South Windsor, Conn.) to bring the game to a stalemate at eight. The back and forth continued until the Mammoths broke the tie with a 4-0 run putting them up 14-10. Hartford would continue to retaliate, bringing the score within 15-14. However, they were never able to fully bridge the gap as the Mammoths would continue to keep the Hawks at a safe distance into the end of the set as Amherst College took set three of three 25-22. 

Inside the Numbers:

• Sophomore Jenna Murphy (East Hampton, Conn.) finished with a game-high four solo blocks.
• Jo. Murphy led the Hawks in kills with nine along with four digs.
• Junior Amaiya Lu (Lawrence, Mass.) finished with a career-high nine digs.
• Connally led the passing efforts with nine assists and six digs.
• Amherst's Charlotte Rasmussen secured her 200th career kill for the Mammoths. 

Up Next:

The Hawks face their next opponent Western Connecticut State (2-2) in a tri-match at home Sunday Sep. 8th at 10:00 a.m. Their second opponent of the day will be United States Merchant Marine Academy (2-0) at 3:00 p.m. 

For the latest information on Hartford Athletics follow the Hawks on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.