CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's volleyball team fell to Rhode Island College and Russell Sage College on Saturday at Glenbrook Gym in a tri-match.
The Spartans (8-5) were powered by 19 kills from Vanessa LeBrun, and 15 from Hailey Martinovich. Alondra Rojas dished out 54 assists through both matches, also racking up 27 digs on the day. Martinovich chipped in 35 digs, while Jocelyn Ray and Madison Sheehan put up two digs apiece.
Rhode Island 3, VTSU Castleton 1
LeBrun had 12 kills against the Anchorwomen with Martinovich chipping in nine kills and a team-high 24 digs. Isabella Luna served up four aces through four sets, while LeBrun and Rojas had two each.
The first set was back-and-forth, with the Anchorwomen leading by as many as four points before the Spartans fought back and earned six unanswered points to lead 24-17 before closing out the set on the next point to take set one 25-18. The Anchorwomen answered in the second set, leading a majority of the time and closing out the set 25-11.
The third set saw the Spartans lead by six points until the Anchorwomen responded to tie the set at 15-15. Set three went the extra mile, with both teams playing with each other, sitting tied at 28-28. The Anchorwomen scored off of two attacking errors by the Spartans to claim the set 30-28. In set four, the Anchorwomen went up 7-3 before the Spartans fought back with kills from Martinovich and LeBrun and a service ace from Luna to put them up one. The Anchorwomen fought back and took the final set 25-23 to win the match.
Russell Sage 3, VTSU Castleton 0
LeBrun led the Spartans with seven kills in match two of the day, with Victoria Garcia pitching in 12 digs and Martinovich 11.
The first set saw the two teams go point-for-point until the Gators pulled away to lead 17-9. The Spartans fought back, but the Gators continued to put away points and take the first set 25-15. The second set was much of the same, with the Gators leading by nine points before Martinovich answered with a kill. The Gators kept their momentum to finish the second set 25-17.
The Spartans came out hot in the third set, leading by four before the Gators started to claw their way back. The two teams traded points before the Gators took a five-point lead to bring the set to 24-19. Ray answered with a kill to bring the Spartans within four, but Ashleigh Gerkman put away a kill to take the set 25-20 for a 3-0 win.
The Spartans are back in action on Wednesday, October 2 at Keene State at 7 p.m.
