SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The Vermont State Castleton Spartans fell to the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds Tuesday evening at the Williamson Sports Center 3-1. The Spartans are now 6-8 with the loss.
The set scores were 18-25, 25-23, 19-25, and 19-25.
The Spartans mixed it up, with Payton Vilmont (Colchester, Vt.) picking up her second start of the season and recording five assists in the first set.
Castleton scored the first point of the match and scored three consecutive points to take a 7-5 lead capped off by a service ace from Nicolette Vaughn (Plainfield, Ill.). The score was tied 16-16 before Skidmore's 9-2 run gave them the first set.
The Spartans managed to record 18 kills in the second set en route to a 25-23 set win. It started off with a kill by Lilli Burrows (Yarmouth, Maine) who had six kills in the set. Castleton rolled out to a 21-12 lead, but Skidmore rallied to cut the Spartans' lead to one point, 24-23 before Castleton clinched the set after a Thoroughbred service error.
The Spartans kept it close early in the third set, but Skidmore used an 8-1 run to run away with the set and not look back. Castleton did cut the deficit to four 14-18, but it was not enough.
In the fourth set, Castleton briefly held an 18-17 lead after three consecutive kills: one by Sam Ford (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Olivia Smith (Newark, Ill.), and Madison Sheehan (Queensbury, N.Y.). The Thoroughbreds once again proved to be too powerful, as they rallied to take the set 25-19 and the match.
Burrows recorded 10 kills, which marks the third time this season she has reached the double-digit mark in that category. Alondra Rojas (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) was one kill away from a triple-double with 23 assists, 14 digs, and nine kills. Vaughn once again led the team with 21 digs.
Up next, the Spartans face UMass Dartmouth on the road in an LEC matchup on Saturday. First serve is set for 11 am.
