WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Hartford women's volleyball team continued their competition in the Conference of New England (CNE) play this Tuesday evening as they took on Johnson & Wales University, ultimately falling short in four sets, 3-1.

Rapid Recap:

• The Hawks jumped out to an early 7-2 lead behind a pair of service aces by freshman Mattea Cosby (Enfield, Conn.). JWU cut into the deficit midway through this first game, but Hartford responded with a 5-1 run fueled by big blocks by junior Nyanakuak Piok (East Syracuse, N.Y.) and junior Jenna Murphy (East Hampton, Conn.). The Hawks came out strong closing the first set in a 6-point run, 25-18 over JWU.
• JWU bounced back in this second set. Although Hartford defended well in the early rallies the Wildcats were able to mount a 10-6 lead over the Hawks with a strong string of kills from Brooke Caquelin. The Hawks gained a few points on the board forcing errors the Wildcats' side of the court. Hartford clawed back a late 5-0 run sparked by two service aces from junior Kalle Legassey (Prospect, Conn.), chasing their tails now just behind by two points, 18-16. Despite the surge JWU capitalized on late Hawk errors to close the frame 25-21, now each teams shared one set each.
• The two teams traded points early before the Wildcats used a pair of service aces to create some distance now 9-6 over the Hawks. Freshman Lauren Johnson (Fort Collins, Colo.) was strong at the net tonight battling back for the Hawks to tie the score 13-13 with powerful kills. Hartford gained momentum taking advantage of Wildcat errors and a key kill from sophomore Gabriela Caucci (Bristol, Conn.) to move closer just behind by one point, 18-17. Hartford was unable to seal the deal and the Wildcats once again closed out this set 25-20 with a service ace from Trinity Ricevuto.
• Hartford was not done yet as they opened this fourth game jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, before Trinity Ricevuto from the Wildcats stalled their push with a kill to get them onto the board. This was followed by a string of points, a nine point run to open their scoring for this final set. This game appeared to be sealed, but the Hawks fought hard putting up a seven point match-point run against the Wildcats from 24-9 to 24-16 forcing JWU to take multiple timeouts to recollect. The Wildcats closed out this final set 25-16 despite the Hawks late push. 

Inside the Numbers:

• Junior Jordan Murphy (East Hampton, Conn.) led the Hawks with 12 kills at the net.
• Johnson had a strong showing putting up eight kills along with eight digs.
• As a team tonight the Hawks put up 27 kills and 49 digs that matched closely with the Wildcats who put up 27 kills and 51 digs. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will host Suffolk University this upcoming Saturday, October 4th with a start time of 1:00 p.m.

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