CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Saturday, falling in three sets to both Western Connecticut State University and Nichols College.
The Spartans (4-11, 0-3 LEC) fell to WestConn (8-7, 4-0 LEC) 25-11, 25-12, 25-12 before dropping the match with Nichols (12-5) 25-18, 25-14, 25-11. Castleton hit .071 as a team on the day, while opponents hit .339 against them. Digs were nearly even on the day, opponents holding a 62-61 advantage, while Castleton was out-blocked 8-1 and out-aced 35-1.
Hailey Martinovich totaled 13 kills over two matches to lead the team, while
Denasia Pompey had 10 kills on the day.
Caitlin Mahoney and
Vanessa LeBrun had five apiece. LeBrun led the squad with 23 digs, followed by
Jadyn Bates with 11.
Maddie Delsignore recorded 28 assists on the day.
The first set between Castleton and WestConn saw the teams trade points, though WestConn piled up multiple points between Castleton's scores with regularity en route to the 25-11 set win. The second set began with a Spartan point, but WestConn rattled off 10 in a row from there to take a commanding lead. A 7-1 run later in the frame put the Wolves ahead 24-8, but Castleton scored four in a row to make it 24-12. An attack error ended the run, giving WestConn a 25-12 victory in the middle set. The third set was much the same, with WestConn rattling off an 11-1 run midway through the set to go ahead 20-9. Castleton was unable to string together multiple points on the way out with the Wolves claiming the final frame 25-12 to end the match.
The first set against Nichols saw the Bison go on an eight-point run to take a 12-3 lead. Nichols worked the score up to 19-8 before Castleton posted a 6-1 run to make it 20-14. After a pair of Nichols points, Castleton again rattled off four points in a row to make it 22-18, highlighted by a pair of kills from Martinovich. The Bison scored the final three points of the set, however, ending the frame 25-18. Nichols ran out to a 9-2 edge early in the second set, giving it cushion throughout the frame for a 25-14 set victory. The final set was all Nichols as well, as the Bison led 14-10 before going on an 11-1 run to close the night, 25-11.
Castleton returns to action next Saturday at Eastern Connecticut State with matches at 1 and 3 p.m.