WILLIMANTIC, Conn. — In the opening round of the Little East Conference Championships,
Julia Stoliker (Red Hook, N.Y.) delivered 15 kills to lead the Western Connecticut State University volleyball team in a 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 9-25, 25-17) triumph over in-state rival Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday at the Geissler Gymnasium. The Wolves advance to the LEC Semifinals with a 20-6 overall record, while the Warriors finished their season 17-8. WestConn travels to No. 1 UMass Dartmouth on November 13 at 7 p.m..
The first set started in favor of the visitors with a service error by Eastern, before a kill and an ace by Stoliker evened the score at three apiece. WestConn went a on short 3-0 run to take an 8-5 lead off consecutive kills by
Sydney Slupatchuk (New Milford, Conn.). With the score knotted at 19-19, Stoliker regained the lead with a kill off the assist by
Maggie Ferguson (Southbury, Conn.). Stoliker's kill ignited a 3-1 rally as the Wolves went up, 23-20, off kills from
Hallie Robillard (Middletown, Conn.) and
Delia Clouden (Newtown, Conn.), followed by an ace by Stoliker. During the rally, Ferguson made a diving save to keep the Wolves alive before the explosive kill by Robillard. Off an attack error by the Warriors, the Wolves led 24-22 before a kill just barely left of the net by Stoliker sealed the opening set victory, 25-22. Stoliker led the team in the first set with four kills.
Ferguson set the tone for the second set with an ace to quickly put the Wolves up, 1-0, followed by an attack error by the Warriors. The visitors went on a 9-3 run, capped off by a block from
Ava Grace Gardner (New York, NY.) to take a commanding 11-4 lead. After being up by five, WestConn continued to play aggressively on offense with a 6-1 rally as
Jersey Jones (Middletown, N.Y.) delivered a pair of aces, along with an ace and a kill by Ferguson. Eastern narrowed the deficit to within two off a kill by Brooke Praskievicz, but a gentle kill to the right by Clouden and an attacking error by the hosts gave the Wolves a two-set advantage in the 25-21 set win.
Despite the score knotted at 2-2 in the third set, Eastern went on a 13-2 run ignited by a kill from Emma Robinson to take a 15-4 edge. The Warriors continued to be a force for the 25-9 win and made it a 2-1 match.
In the fourth set, the Warriors tied the set at four apiece, but a kill by Sluptachuk gave the Wolves the one-point advantage as WestConn maintained the lead through the set. Back-to-back kills by Ferguson from Sluptachuk put the Wolves up, 8-4. The Warriors managed to get within two points in a 14-12 Wolves' edge, but two straight errors by the home team gave the Wolves a three-point advantage. A kill by Haley Jo Bridges narrowed Eastern's deficit to within one, but four consecutive points by the Wolves, capped off by a kill from Sluptachuk, put WestConn up, 22-16. An attack error by the Warriors and kills by Stoliker and Ferguson secured the match in a 25-17 fourth-set victory.
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