WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The Hartford volleyball team kicked off their 2026 season inside a lively Chase Arena as cross-town rivals the University of Saint Joseph would upset the Hawks in five sets by a 3-2 (19-25, 16-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-9) final.
Rapid Recap:
- The Hawks and Blue Jays would trade points in the early going with the first decisive lead coming for the Hawks when they used a 6-0 run to take a 19-13 lead. Junior Rylee Miller (Sunriver, Ore.) led the way in the first set with four early kills as the lead stayed with Hartford. Hartford would continue their late surge to pull away and pick up a 25-19 set one win with freshman Calla McCombs (Bloomfield, N.Y.) closing the first set getting her fifth kill of the match to that point.
- The Hawks would jump ahead earlier in the second set using a 8-2 run led by two more kills for McCombs to lead by a 11-3 score. USJ would mount a nice comeback scoring a 6-1 counter to cut the deficit back to 12-9 in favor of the home team. R. Miller really found her groove in the second set with three kills in the middle portion of the set as the Hawks would establish a 22-13 lead. UHart would close it out to lead 2-0 after the 25-16 set two win.
- In the third set the teams were deadlocked at 10-10 with the visitors jumping ahead by a 17-12 margin following some errors for the Hawks. Freshman Amara Rhodes (Merced, Calif.) would contribute a kill and an assist to try and get Hartford back into the set, but the Blue Jays would hold on late to capture the 25-22 set three win.
- The fourth set saw the teams knotted once again at 10-10 after a pair of kills for R. Miller. The Blue Jays once again snuck in front using a 6-2 spurt to establish the lead. USJ would add a critical six-point swing to take a 23-15 lead and eventually a 25-19 set four win.
- The fifth set would start with both teams trading points, with the Blue Jays scoring six-straight when the score was 5-4 in favor of Hartford. McCombs put one finally kill on the sheet, but the Hawks fell by a 15-9 set five final.
Post Match Press:
"What an amazing atmosphere to play in today, I am so excited about this arena and how it will turn into an incredible home court advantage for us like it was today", said head coach
Johan Dulfer. "Unfortunately, the result didn't fall our way because we started to struggle on serve receive in the third set and continued through the fifth. When in volleyball, you win the serve pass battle you put yourself in a really good situation to win. Unfortunately, tonight was not our night, but there are so many positives we can take away from this. This young team will continue to battle and find ways to win in difficult circumstances, and I am so encouraged by what I saw today."
Inside the Numbers:
- McCombs had a strong debut notching 17 kills with a .275 kill percentage to lead the team. Calla contributed 15 digs and three aces. R. Miller started her Hawk career with 13 kills to go with three service aces and six digs. Senior Jordan Murphy (East Hampton, Conn.) and sophomore Camille Earl (Houston, Texas) each added five kills in the loss.
- Rhodes led the passing effort with 37 assists to go with four kills.
- Junior Addison Miller (Allentown, Pa.) would register 16 digs to lead the defense in the loss.
- Shaye Harris led the Blue Jays with a double-double on 15 kills and 11 digs. Sienna Martin would add 13 kills, five aces and seven digs.
- The Hawks would score a team kill percentage of .165 which was higher than USJ who hit .110 in the win.
- The Blue Jays would have a 12-8 advantage in aces and both teams would each have 53 digs in the five set match.
Up Next:
The Hawks will head to New Haven on Saturday to take place in a tri-match at Albertus Magnus College.
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