CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's volleyball team won the first two sets Saturday against Rhode Island College, but ultimately came up short in a five-set Little East Conference thriller at Glenbrook Gym, 3-2.
 
The Spartans (0-4, 0-4 LEC) won the opening set 25-18 before taking a 2-0 lead with a 25-15 win in set two. RIC (1-4, 1-3 LEC) bounced back in the third set with a 25-17 win before forcing a fifth set with a 25-14 win in set No. 4. Despite a valiant comeback attempt from Castleton in the final frame, Rhode Island College sealed the victory with a 15-12 fifth-set win. It was Castleton's first five-set match since September 26, 2018, against Green Mountain College. Wins in the first two sets also marked the first times since moving to the LEC that Castleton won a set against a conference opponent.
 
Castleton had 46 kills on the day to RIC's 40, while RIC had a 13-11 edge in service aces and a 9-2 edge in total blocks as a team. Castleton had assists on 43-of-46 kills, while the Anchorwomen assisted on 38-of-40. RIC had a 60-55 advantage in digs as a team and swing at a .160 rate, while Castleton hit at a .096 clip.
 
After being honored on Senior Day prior to the game, Meghan Zawatsky had a big day, racking up 14 digs and a kill while nearly serving the Spartans out of their fifth-set deficit late. Zawatsky moved into sole possession of fourth place on Castleton's all-time digs list, reaching 615 career digs in the match to pass J'Leen Diaz, who had 610 from 2013-2016. Lizzie Goodrich led all players with 16 kills on the afternoon, setting a new career-high, while Jessica Trudeau's 13 kills and 12 digs were both second on the team. Madison Hamelink had six kills and nine digs in addition to three aces, and Bre MacDuff racked up 34 assists—tied for fifth most in a single match in program history. Mackenzie Wade contributed five kills, two aces and six digs to the cause.
 
Rhode Island College was led by Amelia Murphy's 14 kills and 13 digs, with Eden Anthony and Angelly Polanco adding seven kills apiece. Polanco also added three solo blocks while Megan Philbrick had two. Wynter Conlon had 10 digs and 36 assists for the Anchorwomen.
 
Castleton got off to a fast start in the opening set, racing out to an 8-1 lead before RIC called a timeout. The Spartans continued to roll, using a six-point run later in the set to go ahead 16-3 after a kill by Trudeau. The Spartans pushed the lead to 24-8 after a Goodrich kill, but a 10-point run from RIC closed the gap to 24-18 before Wade finished off the opening set with a kill to put Castleton ahead 1-0.
 
The second set was more of the same, as Castleton raced out to a 14-6 lead after a four-point run. After the two sides traded points for a stretch, Castleton notched three straight points to take a 22-13 lead and force a Rhode Island College timeout. The two sides went back-and-forth again briefly, but Goodrich logged back-to-back kills to close the second set with Castleton on top 25-15.
 
Leading 2-0 in the match, the Spartans again led early in the third set. Three consecutive kills gave Castleton a 10-7 lead, but Rhode Island College then went on a 5-1 run to go ahead 12-11. Both teams traded blows to a 16-15 score in favor of RIC, but the Anchorwomen rattled off eight straight points to go up 24-15 in the third set. Castleton scored twice in a row, but Murphy finished the third set with a kill to make it 2-1 on the day.
 
The Spartans opened the fourth set with three straight points, but five of the next six points went to the Anchorwomen as the visitors took a 5-4 lead. The lead was stretched to 11-6 after a later six-point run by RIC, and 18-8 following a seven-point run in the latter portion of the set. Castleton scored four straight points to make it 19-13, but RIC closed out the set on a 6-1 run to knot the match at 2-2 and force a fifth set.
 
In the final frame, RIC jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but Castleton whittled away at it to level the score at 6-6. After each side scored back-to-back points to make it 8-8, the Anchorwomen rattled off five consecutive points to go ahead 13-8. An error by the Anchorwomen made it 13-9 and gave Castleton serve, but Murphy logged a kill to give RIC set point and match point, 14-9. A kill by Goodrich and two more from Hamelink cut the gap back to 14-12 with Zawatsky on the serve, but Murphy capped the match for RIC, stopping the Spartans' fifth-set comeback with a kill to give the Anchorwomen the 3-2 win.
 
Castleton concludes its season next Friday, April 30, at Eastern Connecticut State at 6:30 p.m