KEENE, N.H.— The Vermont State Castleton Spartans fell in the quarterfinals of the Little East Conference Tournament to the Keene State Owls Tuesday evening at Spaulding Gymnasium three sets to one. The set scores were 22-25, 25-16, 6-25, and 16-25. 

With the loss, the Spartans finish the season at 11-14. 

They went on a 7-2 run which included two kills by Sam Ford (Fort Wayne, Ind.) to put them up momentarily, 14-13. Castleton kept it close, and it was tied a couple of times late, but Keene State took the first set by three points. 

Castleton started down 8-6 but scored 12 straight points to take command of the set, eventually winning 25-16. Olivia Smith (Newark, Ill.) had four kills during this run, while Madison Sheehan (Queensbury, N.Y.) and Lilli Burrows (Yarmouth, Maine) put up two kills apiece in that stretch. 

The Owls put up a dominant third set, winning 25-6.  

The fourth set was a better battle, with Castleton trailing by just one point, 14-13 before Keene State took control to win the set 25-16 and the match to advance to the LEC semifinals. 

Smith and Alondra Rojas (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) led the team with six kills each. Rojas also posted a double-double with 21 assists and 14 digs. She also had all four of Castleton's service aces in the match. Brianna Walsh (Dallas, Texas) led the team in digs with 15.