NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Castleton University women's volleyball team split a pair of matches at the Vermont Volleyball Classic on Saturday, falling 3-0 to Norwich in the opener before sweeping Northern Vermont University-Lyndon in the second match of the day.
 
The Spartans sit at 1-2 on the season after the day's matches. Castleton fell to Norwich 25-11, 25-16, 25-18 before defeating Lyndon 25-11, 25-19, 25-11.
 
Hailey Martinovich had 13 kills on the day for the Spartans over two matches, while Jessica Trudeau added 12 and Lizzie Goodrich 11. Bre MacDuff compiled 32 assists and seven service aces, and Mackenzie Wade had 17 digs.
 
In the opener against Norwich, Martinovich amassed eight kills and four digs, while Trudeau and Goodrich added six kills each. Wade racked up 15 digs in the loss and MacDuff 17 assists.
 
Norwich was led by 10 kills from Maggie McNeil, while Kathryn Farnum added nine kills. Both players had seven digs. Sarah Farnum tallied 27 assists and Laura Farnum each had eight digs in the match.
 
Against Lyndon, Castleton ran out to an early lead in the opening set, 10-2, behind three aces from MacDuff and kills by Martinovich and Trudeau. The Spartans continued to dominate the opening set, using a 7-1 run later in the frame to take a 22-8 lead. The Spartans capped the opening-set win with a service ace from Cailin Moskow.
 
The second set was a tighter battle throughout, though Castleton was in control from the early moments of the frame. After trailing 2-1 in the set, Castleton scored three straight points on NVU errors to take a 4-2 lead. Lyndon scored twice to knot the set at 4-4, but Castleton scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 12-6 lead before Lyndon called a timeout. The Spartans tacked on one more out of the timeout before Lyndon stopped the run with three straight points to make it 13-9 in favor of Castleton. A four-point run later in the set put the Spartans ahead 20-12, and Castleton closed the set out 25-19 following a service error by the Hornets.
 
The final set was much like the opening set in the Spartans' final match of the day, with Castleton controlling early and opening up a big lead. Leading 10-4, Castleton rattled off three straight points that included kills from Trudeau and Martinovich, giving the Spartans a 13-4 advantage. The lead continued to grow slowly but surely, as Castleton worked the advantage to 20-9 before Lyndon scored back-to-back points. Castleton closed out the match from there, scoring the final five points of the game behind strong service from Martinovich. The final two points came on an ace from the rookie and a kill by Alivia Gaulin, sealing the first win of the season for the Castleton volleyball team.
 
The Spartans return to action Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they host SUNY-Cobleskill in Glenbrook Gym.