ALBANY, N.Y. — The Vermont State Castleton Spartans lost on Tuesday evening to the Russell Sage Gators at the Kahl Campus Center three sets to one. Castleton is now 8-12 on the season with the loss. The set scores were 17-25, 25-23, 21-25, and 21-25.
The Spartans briefly held a 5-4 lead in the first set after a combined block from Madison Sheehan (Queensbury, N.Y.) and Jocelyn Ray (Essex, Vt.). It was all Gators for the rest of the set, and they slowly increased their lead to take the set by eight points.
Despite trailing 17-9 in the second, Castleton engineered a big response to win the set. Olivia Smith (Newark, Ill.) and Marley Hill (Austin, Texas) each had three kills during the run. The Spartans were up 24-20 before the Gators scored three straight points, making it 24-23 before Smith's kill clinched the set.
Attempting to build off the momentum of the second set, the Spartans held a 20-18 lead in the set before Sage's 7-1 run gave them the third set. Despite losing the set, the Spartans recorded 12 kills, the most they had in any set in the match.
Trying to force a fifth set, Castleton kept it competitive, even holding an 18-17 lead at one point in the fourth before the Gators reversed course to win their second consecutive set 25-21.
Smith posted her highest kill total of the season with 13. Alondra Rojas (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) posted a double-double with 32 assists and 16 digs, while Nicolette Vaughn (Plainfield, Ill.) also had 16 digs.
The Spartans are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Southern Maine for an LEC match. First serve is scheduled for noon.
