Volleyball Falls to UMBC before taking down Binghamton

A five-day break didn’t work in favor of the Hartford Hawks volleyball team. After losing to Albany 0-3, the Hawks looked to bring down the UMBC Retrievers. They were close but weren’t able to finish in the fifth game. In set one, the Hawks only lost by a total of two points. At one point, they were up by a score of 20-15. However, UMBC made a comeback and ended up winning 25-23. Much like the first set, the Hawks opened up hot in the second set but couldn’t maintain the lead. After losing the first two sets, the fans expected to see a quick loss in West Hartford, Conn. A turn-around happened in the third, UMBC came out on top feeling confident that they only had to win one more game to go home winners. Hartford wasn’t finished, they ended up taking this set 25-18. After winning the fourth set, the Hawks went into the fifth set feeling good and had some momentum on their side. With this set only going to 15 points, both teams needed to come out on fire. The set was back and forth up until the ninth point. The Hawks just couldn’t hold on, they lost this game in the fifth set by just two points (13-15).

Leaders in this game include Abby Nash, who compiled a season-high 17 kills for her team. Along with Jenna Bridges who had 18 kills and three blocks in this game. After this game, the team dropped to 8-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference. After losing to UMBC and Albany, Hartford needed a win to help bring their conference record up. If they lost to Binghamton, they would be left with a 1-4 conference record. However, the Hawks pulled off a win against the Binghamton Bearcats. They took this game by three sets to one. Like the last game against UMBC, Nash and Bridges shined as the leaders in this game. Hartford took the first two sets of this game but allowed Binghamton to take the third set. This game was won in the fourth set, which was back-and-forth and saw a total of 14 ties. Jenna Bridges helped lead her team to victory by having two kills of off sets from Megan Anderson. This set ended with a Hartford win over the Binghamton Bearcats by a narrow two-point margin.

A silent standout for Hartford has been a big part of this team all season, Megan Anderson. In the last two games against UMBC and Binghamton, she has compiled a total of 103 assists.

The next game up for the Hawks is against Stony Brook on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 6:30 p.m. in Stony Brook, NY. The team previously played them on Sept. 21 and lost 0-3.

Currently, the Seawolves are undefeated in conference play (6-0) and hold an overall record of 12-8.