Volleyball Drops Two at WVU

The Central Connecticut volleyball team fell twice on the first day of the 2012 season.  The Blue Devils (0-2) dropped their first two matches of the West Virginia Mountaineer Invitational on Friday.  Falling to Loyola (MD) (1-0) and then to the host Mountaineers (1-1).

CCSU v. Loyola

The Central Connecticut volleyball team opened the 2012 season with a loss to Loyola (MD) on Friday afternoon.  The Blue Devils dropped the match, 3-1, as the Greyhounds were able to capture the first (25-22), third (27-25) and fourth (25-22) sets.  Central won the second set by a score of 25-17.

A very even match, Loyola won its sets by just eight total points.

In the first set, the Blue Devils tied the game at 22-22 on a kill by senior Blaike King with freshman Makenna Lommori recording the assist on the play.  However, the point was the last of the set for the Blue Devils as Loyola closed out the game with three straight points.

Senior Emily Cochran recorded a kill to tie the second set at 11-11 and from that point the Blue Devils never looked back.  CCSU closed the set on a 14-6 run with sophomore Rachel Dunlap and senior Jennifer Waddill both playing key roles in the 25-17 victory.

The third set went to extra points with the Blue Devils falling just short in an extremely close game.  The largest deficit of the set saw the Blue Devils trail 17-12, but a comeback quickly knotted the score at 20-20.  The score was tied five more times, as the teams alternated points to a 25-25 tie.

The fourth set was also close, but again the Greyhounds were able to pull away late and earn the victory.

Cochran finished the match with a team-high 11 kills and 14 digs.  King also had 14 digs in the match.

Lommori finished her first match as a Blue Devil with a  team-high 25 assists.  Freshman Ashley Lenington contributed 17 assists in her first collegiate action.

Dunlap posted two solo and five combined blocks to lead all players.

CCSU v. West Virginia

The Blue Devils fell to West Virginia in three sets to conclude the first day of the 2012 volleyball season.  The Mountaineers won sets by scores of 25-14, 25-14 and 25-23.  Sophomore Brittany Schumacher posted a game-high 18 digs for the Blue Devils in the loss.

The Mountaineer's took control of the action early in both the first and second set.  In both cases, West Virginia gave the Blue Devils few opportunities to build a comeback.

In the third set, the Blue Devils were able to turn the momentum in their favor with an early 4-1 lead and later an 18-14 advantage.  The West Virginia squad was able to hang in the game and battled back to win, 25-23, by taking the final two points of the set.

Freshman Heather Trueman posted four kills in the third set.  She also had a pair of aces and three digs in the match.

Lommori finished with a team-high six kills and also had 11 assists and seven digs.

The Mountaineer's posted 48 kills and 8.0 blocks to control the net throughout the match.

The Blue Devils will complete play at the Mountaineer Invitational on Saturday at 2 p.m.  CCSU will play Saint Francis (PA), but the game will not count as a Northeast Conference contest.