Underclassmen Shine in Five-Set Win Against CCSU

Saturday, September 18

West Hartford, Conn.

4:00 PM

Dartmouth College

8-1,0-0Ivy League

Central Connecticut State

3-9,0-0NEC

Dartmouth

Central Conn. St.

Celebration volleyball action versus New Hampshire

Karen Murphy (L) and Taite Ryan cheer on their teammates after a point

Photo by: Doug Austin

Underclassmen Shine in Five-Set Win Against CCSU

9/18/2021 6:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Volleyball ended its final tournament weekend on a high note with a 3-2 defeat of Central Connecticut State

By: Charlotte Brackett

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth volleyball ended the Hartford Invitational with a five-set victory over Central Connecticut State (18-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19, 15-11) on Saturday afternoon.

Two players had double-doubles: Ellie Blain (21K, 12D) and Makenzie Arent (35A, 11D). Blain also had a team-leading 23 points, while Emma Engstrom had three of the team's five aces and Emma Moffet was first with seven total blocks. Blain and Moffet were named all-tournament at the end of the weekend.

"I thought we faced a very tough team that taught us m ore about who we are as a team and forced us to grow," head coach Gilad Doron said. "They served extremely well and I was very pleased to see how our players kept their faith in our game plan and got stronger as the match went on."

Dartmouth (8-1) vs. CCSU (3-9)

The first set started evenly and featured a handful of ties until an 8-1 run gave the Blue Devils the advantage (19-12). The Big Green found its way back into the game with a 5-2 rally of their own made up of kills by Blain, Piper Stevens and Moffet, but the damage had already been done (18-25).

Dartmouth had a good start to the second set, and a 5-2 run following three kills by Blain and two Blue Devil errors put the Big Green ahead (10-7). The teams traded kills – with those for Dartmouth coming from Amelia Gibbs, Blain, Bomi Ogunlari and Taite Ryan – until the Green had the victory in sight (21-17). Dartmouth and CCSU went back-and-forth, but a kill from Moffet made it a 1-1 game (25-20).

The Blue Devils were the stronger team at the beginning of the third and a 9-1 streak put them in front (14-5). The Big Green got some points in from kills by Gibbs and Blain, an ace by Nicole Liddle and some errors by the other team to slightly cut into that lead (21-15). Dartmouth got a few points closer before CCSU ended it (18-25).

Five straight points from kills by Ogunlari, Ryan and Moffet, and a pair of Blue Devil errors started the fourth set on a good note (5-0). CCSU wasted little time, going on a 10-2 rally to pull ahead (12-9). The Big Green and the Blue Devils traded every other point, all kills, until a CCSU error allowed Dartmouth to tie the score (16-16). Dartmouth won five of the next six points thanks to kills by Blain and Gibbs and some errors on the other side of the net, creating some distance (21-17). The Big Green ended it with three straight points off a kill by Moffet, an ace by Arent and a CCSU error (25-19).

Dartmouth had a slight edge to start the fourth set, but three straight CCSU kills got it within one point (6-5). A rally on the other side of the net put the Blue Devils up (11-9), but that was the last point CCSU would get. Three kills by Ryan, two by Gibbs and one from Ogunlari ended the match (15-11).

Done with tournament play, the Green will start Ivy League action next Friday when it hosts Harvard.