WESTON, Mass. - The Hartford volleyball team won its third match in a row on Tuesday night completing a five-set comeback against Regis College winning by a 3-2 (19-25, 25-14, 18-25, 25-22, 19-17) final.
Rapid Recap:
- The Pride jumped ahead by a 9-4 score only for Hartford to use a 5-1 run to cut the deficit just to a single point with a pair of kills coming to freshman Calla McCombs (Bloomfield, N.Y.). Regis would once again take the set under control with a 7-2 spurt as the lead was 17-11. The Hawks could not get back into the set getting within 23-19 before the Pride would close it out with two straight points.
- The teams would trade points in the second set with Hartford getting the first significant run to lead 12-7 behind a kill from sophomore Camille Earl (Houston, Texas). The Hawks would get another 6-0 run later in the set as the lead grew to nine points in the set with freshman Arianna Mapa (San Diego, Calif.) getting a pair of aces to close the run. Hartford would coast to the 25-14 set two kin with an ace for sophomore Mattea Cosby (Enfield, Conn.) to close it out.
- The Pride jumped all over Hartford to start the third set leading by a 11-3 margin early on. The home team continue its flurry to extend the advantage to 18-7, before a kill from Mapa stopped the run. The Hawks would put up a close fight late with three late kills from senior Jordan Murphy (East Hampton, Conn.), but UHart would fall by a 25-18 margin.
- The fourth set was highly contested early with Hartford slowly taking a 13-7 lead. The lead would hit 16-10, but the Pride would make a run as the score was 18-16 late. Hartford would score two aces and kill to get the score to 23-20 late and a final kill for McCombs would see them escape with a 25-22 set four win.
- The fifth set had high drama with Regis earning the early 7-4 lead. Hartford would counter with a 8-2 run sparked by McCombs who had another pair of kills. The Pride would battle all the way back to even the score at 14-14 as we entered the tiebreaker. McCombs would get it done getting two kills back-to-back as Hartford inched out the 19-17 set five win.
Post Match Press:
"It felt amazing to pick up this comeback win", said freshman
Calla McCombs (Bloomfield, N.Y.). "It finally felt like the team we've been wanted to compete as and we showed so much heart tonight and never gave up. Everyone overcame an adversity and we played for each other tonight and it showed."
"To say Kylie and I were proud of the team tonight would be a huge understatement", said head coach
Johan Dulfer. "We talk a lot about doing whatever you do with your whole heart - all in. Win or lose I would've been happy with our effort tonight but it became pretty clear in our timeouts that this team wasn't going to lose tonight. Just incredible focus and sacrifice on everyone's part. So much joy for each other. This is what Mudita looks like."
Inside the Numbers:
- McCombs the reigning Conference of New England (CNE) rookie of the week continued her rise in stardom finishing with another double-double. Calla contributed 17 kills, 23 digs and two aces for 19.5 points.
- Junior Rylee Miller (Sunriver, Ore.) was the next highest point scorer with seven kills while also getting eight digs. Jo. Murphy and Earl would each add six in the win.
- Junior Addison Miller (Allentown, Pa.) would register 16 digs and a pair of aces, while Cosby led the passing effort with 19 assists and six digs.
- Avery Mola led the Pride with 14.0 points on 10 kills and five total blocks. Beatriz Paulo added 10 kills and two digs in the loss.
- The Hawks would score a team kill percentage of .124 which was higher than Regis who hit .093 in the loss.
- Hartford would own a 12-9 aces advantage.
Up Next:
The Hawks will host Eastern Connecticut State University on Friday with a 6:00 PM start time.
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