University of Hartford

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Hartford Women's Volleyball kicks off what will be a busy upcoming weekend, on Friday night as they play host to the Warriors of Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU). The Warriors would win the match in straight sets (25-12, 25-17, 25-15).

 

Rapid Recap:

• ECSU would get off to a hot start in the first set, securing a 4-0 run to open play. The Warriors would expand this lead, building a 10-2 start against the Hawks. Hartford would begin to find their footing, with kills from junior Rylee Miller (Sunriver, Ore), freshman Calla McCombs (Bloomfield, N.Y.), and junior Andrea Martir-Perez (Bristol, Conn.) to bring the score to 13-6 right around the halfway point in the first set. The Warriors would maintain a 10-point cushion for much of the first set; as they would go on to take set one 25-12.

• Hartford would start the second set off hot, scoring the first two points by way of attack errors, secured by junior Addison Miller (Allentown, Pa.) and senior Jordan Murphy (East Hampton, Conn.). Eastern would find their way back in the set, securing a 7-4 advantage. However, the Hawks would claw back with a run of their own bringing the score to 9-8 with a service ace from freshman Aribella Stephens (St. Louis, Mo.) , a handful of attack errors, and a kill from sophomore Mattea Cosby (Enfield, Conn.). The Warriors would begin to pull away, scoring seven unanswered points to give them a 16-9 advantage. Hartford would once again find their way back in the match, bringing the score within one 16-16, with a pair of kills for McCombs and sophomore Lauren Johnson (Fort Collins, Colo.). Eastern would once again pull away in the late stages of the set, as they would go on to win set two 25-17. 

• The Hawks would again find their footing to start the third set, getting off to a commanding 5-0 lead, with a service ace from freshman Belen Butler (San Diego, Calif.) as well as kills from Jo. Murphy and McCombs. ECSU would continue to battle, finding their way back to tie things at six a piece, and eventually go on to take a 7-6 lead. This would fester into a 21-9 lead, for Eastern as the Warriors would continue to keep their foot on the gas. ECSU would go on to win the set, 25-16, and subsequently the match in straight sets. 

 

Inside the Numbers:

• McCombs would lead the way for the Hawks with 10 kills on 27 total attacks, with six digs, Cosby would finish with 17 assists, to go along with six digs, and a kill. Johnson would record four kills, as well as one total block and a dig. Miller would finish with three kills, two assists and nine digs in the three sets played. 

• Eastern would lead in most statistical categories, with the exception of total blocks (3.0-2.0 Har.), and solo blocks (3-2 Har.) 

• Eastern would finish on much more efficient metrics with a .300 hitting percentage compared to .080 for the Hawks. 

Post-Game Press:
"We were not quite ourselves...and it showed in multiple facets of our play. I expect us to bounce back from this and be better teammates and competitors going forward. It is a tough lesson to learn for a program in building mode, but an important one for us as we build ourselves into what we want to be," Head Coach Johan Dulfer said post game. 

Up Next:
The Hawks will host a tri-match on Saturday, Sep. 12 against Fitchburg State University at 11:00AM, and Connecticut College at 3:00PM