DANBURY, Conn. - Senior
Julia Stoliker (Red Hook, N.Y.), WestConn's leading scorer this season, turned in another dominant night Wednesday, but Eastern Connecticut State won the final three sets to edge the Wolves 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 27-25, 25-13) at Stephen Feldman Arena. Stoliker hit .400 with a match-high 17 kills and added 16 digs.
WestConn took the opener in a back-and-forth set. The Wolves trailed 9-6 before Sophomore Hallie Robillard (Middletown, Conn.) and Stoliker keyed a rally that tied it at 10-10, and the teams stayed within a point or two for most of the set. At 18-18, rookie setter Kyra Courtemanche (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) served an ace, and Stoliker followed with a strike to the floor to put WestConn ahead for good. Freshman Kayla Proscia (Holbrook, N.Y.) and sophomore Sophia Siruchek (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) added late kills, and Courtemanche put WestConn up 24-21 on the way to the 25-22 win.
Eastern Connecticut took control in the second set, building a 14-8 lead and holding the Wolves off the rest of the way. WestConn hit just .105 in the 25-18 loss.
The third set was the match's turning point. WestConn recovered from a 15-12 deficit, powered by a run of four straight points that included a Proscia kill and scores from Siruchek and Robillard. Stoliker then took command, notching three kills, guiding the Wolves to go ahead 22-18 and then reach set point at 24-22. But Eastern's Lauren Lacy came up with a pair of back-to-back service aces to even the count at 24-24. The Warriors took the lead on the second ace and a WestConn failed set on the final rally handed the visitors a 27-25 win.
WestConn never recovered in the fourth. Eastern Connecticut closed out the match on a decisive late spurt.
Courtemanche finished with 37 assists, and Siruchek added 10 kills. Graduate student Taylor Thompson (West Point, N.Y.) recorded nine kills and a service ace, while Robillard matched Stoliker with 16 digs to go with nine kills. Proscia led the Wolves with three solo blocks, and freshman Sadie Casella (Marlboro, N.Y.) added 14 digs.
Eastern Connecticut got 14 kills each from Brooke Praskievicz and Sierra York, who hit .444. Setter Sonya Nielsen racked up 28 assists, and libero Emerson Conigliaro had a match-best 29 digs and five aces.
The loss drops WestConn to 3-13 overall and 1-2 in Little East Conference play. Eastern Connecticut improves to 9-4 and 2-1. The Wolves will look to rebound when they host LEC foe UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at Noon.
