MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Castleton University volleyball team hit the road for a pair of matches against EastConn and Framingham State Saturday afternoon, falling in straight sets to both.
 
The Spartans (4-13, 0-4 LEC) dropped their first game to Eastern Connecticut (12-4, 4-1 LEC) 25-8, 25-10, 25-22 before falling in their second match with Framingham State (12-8, 2-1 MASCAC) 25-16, 25-17, 25-14. Castleton tallied 38 kills over the day's two matches compared to 83 for their opponents, and were outdug 62-85 on the defensive side.
 
Hailey Martinovich was the only Spartan to finish the afternoon with double digit kills, tallying 13 over two contests. Vanessa LeBrun added nine kills with Jenna Schott finishing close behind with seven. Martinovich also led the team in digs at 15, with LeBrun adding 13 while Schott and Maddie Delsignore chipped in 11 apiece. Delsignore also recorded a team-leading 27 assists.
 
The Warriors jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first set before Castleton scored their first point on a service error. With the score 7-1, the Spartans rattled off two straight points on a kill and block from Schott to make it 7-3. From there EastConn used a series of runs to claim Set 1 25-8. The second set was much more tightly contested, with the sides knotted at seven before the Warriors scored six straight to take a 13-7 lead. A LeBrun kill would interrupt the run, but another stretch of four points made it 17-7, with a set-clinching seven point run a few points later giving EastConn the second set victory, 25-10.
 
After falling behind 2-0 in sets, Castleton held the early advantage in the afternoon's third game. A 4-0 run with kills LeBrun and Martinovich set the Spartans up with a. 4-2 lead. After knotting the game at six, another four-point run saw Castleton lead 10-6. The sides traded points until Castleton was up 20-15, but EastConn closed the set and the match with a 10-2 run to hand the Spartans the 3-0 loss.
 
The first set against the Rams was hotly contested, with the Spartans holding a 9-8 lead before Framingham State used a pair of small runs to take the 14-10 advantage. The teams traded points for the remainder of the set, resulting in the 25-16 victory for the Rams. The second set was full of runs as Castleton leapt out to leads of 6-3, 12-7 and 14-10 before Framingham scored five straight to take their first lead of the set. The Spartans kept it close up until it was 17-20 before the Rams went on a six-point run to take the second set.
 
The afternoon's final set saw Castleton jump out to an early lead once again, but another 6-0 run for Framingham put them in front for good at 11-8. A pair of runs extended the Rams' lead before they took Set 3 and the match 25-14.
 
Castleton returns to action Wednesday, October 12 when they travel to New Hampshire for a match with Keene State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.