NASHUA, N.H. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's volleyball team suffered its first losses of the season on Saturday, falling in straight sets to Wentworth before dropping a five-set battle against Rivier, 3-2.
The Spartans (3-2) were powered by 22 kills from
Hailey Martinovich on the day, followed by 13 from
Jocelyn Ray and nine from
Alondra Rojas. Rojas also had nine aces, 41 assists and 23 digs in a big performance for the rookie over two matches. Martinovich chipped in 21 digs of her own, while
Madison Sheehan played a role in four blocks on the afternoon.
Wentworth 3, VTSU Castleton 0
Martinovich and Rojas had six kills each against the Leopards, with Kaitlin Chapman adding four kills and a pair of block assists.
Delia Roulston had seven digs and Ray added a trio of aces in the match.
The Leopards rattled off nine points late in the first set to claim the opening frame. They pulled ahead 5-0 in the second set before Castleton worked it back to an 8-5 score. Another push by Wentworth made it 16-6, but the Spartans were resilient with five straight points thanks in part to three kills by Rojas to pull back to 16-11. Wentworth slowed the pace from there, taking the set 25-14.
The final set was a tight battle, with Castleton taking a 4-3 lead early. After Wentworth went ahead 11-6, the Spartans fought back to tie the score at 15-15. A 6-0 run by the Leopards made it 21-15, but Castleton worked to get back within two, 22-20 later in the set. That was all they could muster, as Wentworth went on to close the frame 25-20.
Rivier 3, VTSU Castleton 2
Martinovich stacked up 16 kills and 15 digs in the second match of the day while Ray added 12 kills against the Raiders. Rojas compiled 32 assists and seven aces to go with 18 digs.
Castleton ran out to a 6-0 lead in the first set, but Rivier battled back to an 11-10 Spartan lead. Castleton went on a 7-0 run to pull ahead 18-10, capped by three straight kills from Ray. The two sides went back-and-forth the rest of the set, but Castleton's comfortable lead gave them a 1-0 lead with a 25-16 victory.
The Spartans led 16-10 in the second set before Rivier went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 18-16. A kill by
Lillirose Prevost and an ace by Ray leveled the score at 18-18, but the Raiders pulled away to take the set 25-20.
Castleton got off to a quick start in the third set, leading 12-5 after a pair of kills by Martinovich. Four more points later in the set pushed the lead to 16-9 and the Spartans closed strongly with five of the last six points to take the third set 25-14 and go ahead 2-1 in the match.
The Raiders rebounded from there, taking set four in a battle 25-20 to force a winner-take-all fifth set. The teams traded points to a 3-3 score before Castleton rattled off two in a row for a 5-3 lead. Rivier answered with two points of their own to level the score at 5-5. Martinovich blasted another kill to go ahead 6-5, but Rivier pushed ahead 11-7 after a 6-1 run. Castleton battled back to an 11-10 deficit, but the Raiders rattled off four in a row to close the match 15-10 for a 3-2 win.
The Spartans are back in action Wednesday night at 5 p.m. at MCLA.
