CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's volleyball team played another five-set thriller at Glenbrook Gym on Thursday night, taking a 3-2 victory from SUNY Cobleskill.
 
The Spartans won the match 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 27-29, 15-13 to improve to 3-6 and snap a five-game skid. Cobleskill's losing streak extends to nine matches with the loss at 1-9 overall. Castleton set a new program single-match record with 112 digs as a team in the contest, while the team's 53 kills rank tied for fourth-most in a single match all time. It was only the third time in program history that a Spartan team attempted 200 or more attacks.
 
Vanessa LeBrun's 28 digs in the match rank tied for third-most in a single match all time. Maddie Delsignore piled up 41 assists—a career high and a mark that ranks as the third-most in a single match by any Spartan in program history. LeBrun also made an impact offensively with 11 kills and five aces. Hailey Martinovich led the Spartans with 16 kills on a career-high 65 swings, while also adding 16 digs on defense. Denasia Pompey tallied nine kills and four aces and Jenna Schott narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine kills and 15 digs. In addition to her 41 helpers, Delsignore also amassed 20 digs on the evening. Jadyn Bates added 17 digs and Caitlin Mahoney had 14 digs with six kills and three aces.
 
Abigail Scheurich led the Fighting Tigers with 13 kills, while Mackenzie Larson added 11. Victoria O'Bar had a game-high 29 digs while Larson chipped in 24 of her own. Kasey Orlowski and Emma Mercilliott split time at setter, with the pair racking up 24 and 13 assists, respectively.
 
Cobleskill got out to an early lead in the first set, but Castleton stormed back with five answered points to take a 9-8 lead. A 6-1 run later in the set gave Castleton a 17-13 lead, but The Fighting Tigers clawed back to a 17-17 deadlock. The sides found themselves tied again at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 points before Castleton scored back-to-back points to end the first set on top, 25-23.
 
The Spartans controlled play early in the second set with a 9-5 lead before Cobleskill took a 15-13 lead of its own. Six straight Spartan points made it a 19-15 game in favor of the hosts, but a 6-1 run by the visitors gave the Fighting Tigers a late lead, 21-20. Castleton rattled off five consecutive points to end the frame, capped by a kill from Pompey for a 25-21 set score and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Spartans looked to be cruising in the third set, leading 15-8 when Cobleskill called a timeout. The Spartans scored once more out of the break, but the Fighting Tigers went on an 8-1 run to get back within one point, 18-17. The teams traded blows once again with Castleton pulling ahead 22-19, but Cobleskill scored the final six points of the set to stay alive, 25-22 and 2-1.
 
The fourth set was a grind for both sides, with Castleton going ahead by five points early, 11-6. The Fighting Tigers fought back once again, taking. A 13-12 lead after a 7-1 run. Castleton then went on a run that led to an 18-14 edge before Cobleskill turned it around for a 19-18 lead of its own after five unanswered points. Castleton scored three straight points before Cobleskill tallied back-to-back to tie the score at 21-21. A kill by Schott and consecutive errors by Cobleskill gave Castleton match-point with a 24-21 lead. A Spartan error kept Cobleskill alive, and the visitors capitalized by rattling off four points in a row for a 25-24 lead. Castleton gained the advantage with back-to-back kills by Martinovich, but an error on the serve leveled the score back to 26-26. The Spartans went back ahead 27-26 after a kill by Pompey, but two errors and a Fighting Tiger kill later, the match was square at 2-2 after a 29-27 fourth-set win by the visitors.
 
Castleton again led the in the early portion of the final set, taking an 8-4 edge in the race to 15 after an error by the Fighting Tigers. Cobleskill continued to hang tough, tying the score at 10, 11 and 12 points. Castleton went ahead 13-12 after another Pompey kill, and a kill by Martinovich made it 14-12 and gave Castleton yet another chance to close the match. Cobleskill's Scheurich logged a kill of her own to keep the team alive, but an attack error by the Fighting Tigers ended the night with Castleton victorious, 3-2 in the match and 15-13 in the fifth set.
 
The Spartans play a tri-match Friday against Rhode Island College and Fisher. The Spartans will play RIC at 2 p.m. and Fisher at 6 p.m. RIC and Fisher will play one another at 4 p.m.