Volleyball Falls Short to Smith College at Home

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Matthew Tomer, Sports Editor

Last Friday, the Hartford Hawks’ volleyball team took on the Smith College Pioneers in their second home match of the season. After their home opener win against Stonehill, the Hawks looked to continue their unbeaten streak at home. Smith College was not going to let that happen, as they battled it out, each set giving them the edge, 3 sets to 0 over Hartford.

The first set started off with the Pioneers retaining the edge at 14-8, that was until the Hawks battled it out to tie the set at 22-22. Following the tie, Smith College would go on to score the next three points giving them the set 1 win 25-22. Hartford started off set 2 maintaining a lead until the Pioneers tied it at 8. Both teams battled back and forth for the rest of the match until they met up at 23-23. Smith would then score the final two points taking set two 25-23. The 3 rd set kept up with the same theme as the first two, it was a constant battle for the lead. Going on a late 7-0 run, the Hawks were able to tie it up at 20. Smith would then hold the edge and finish the final round with a score of 25-22 claiming a 3-0 victory over Hartford.

With the back-and-forth battle in all 3 sets, there were some stellar performances from both teams. For Hartford, Senior outside hitter Greta De Gasper had 14 digs and 8 kills along with an ace and a block. Along with De Gasper, fellow Italy native and senior Sarah Gasparotto also had an outstanding performance. Gasparotto finished with 4 blocks, 4 kills, and 4 digs.

The Hawks will remain at home in their next match against Eastern Connecticut State University on Thursday. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m. with doors opening at 6:00 p.m.