DANBURY, Conn. - Despite a team-high 18 kills from graduate student Ali Brochu (Winsted, Conn.), the fourth-seeded Western Connecticut State University women's volleyball team fell to visiting fifth-seeded Eastern Connecticut, 3-2 (25-22, 30-32, 25-21, 20-25, 18-16) in a thrilling Little East Conference Championship quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday evening at Feldman Arena. With the loss, WestConn's season came to a conclusion at 18-8 overall, while the Warriors improved to 17-7 and advanced to the semifinal round on Thursday.

Graduate student Victoria Alomar (Naranjito, P.R.), senior Abbi Debes (New Milford, Conn.), and graduate student Victoria Korzan tallied 14, 12, and 10 kills respectively for WestConn. Alomar also notched four service aces, while junior setter Rory McMaster (Canton, Mich.) dished out 56 assists. Junior Taylor Rohan (Yonkers, N.Y.) also put forth a solid outing at the net contributing six kills and six solo blocks for the hosts.

Senior middle hitter Anna Barry (Andover, Conn.) paced Eastern with a match-high 31 kills to go along with an outstanding .651 hitting percentage. Classmate Meg Verizzi (Lebanon, Conn.) added a match-high 63 assists, while senior Abby Stern (Manchester, Conn.) chipped in with 19 kills and a match-high 26 digs. 

The contest was neck-and-neck nearly the entire way. Eastern won the opening set, 25-22, before an epic second stanza. WestConn held a 22-12 advantage before Eastern stormed back to deadlock the count at 23-23. The hosts eventually outlasted the visitors, 32-30, on an Eastern error. 

WestConn led 17-14 in the third before Eastern put together yet another rally, coming away with a 25-21 third set victory. In the fourth, Rohan notched three consecutive blocks late before Korzan buried an ace, setting up the final set showdown.

The hosts jumped ahead 5-2 before the visitors clawed their way back into it, knotting the score at 13-13. Brochu notched a kill to make it 14-13. Moments later, they appeared to seal the win. However, Eastern was awarded the kill on a shot that appeared to sail wide of the boundary line. The visitors went on to secure the win on back-to-back floors from Stern.