Health & Fitness
Volleyball Sweeps Bryant in Three on Tuesday
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The University of Hartford volleyball team completed its second three-set sweep of an opponent on Tuesday night, defeating the Bryant Bulldogs in a mid-week match on Tuesday night. The Hawks, 3-9 overall, were led by senior Sareeta Nethersole who finished with 11 kills, the only Hawk to finish in double figures.
Following Nethersole's lead was sophomore Chandler Goodwin who finished with nine kills and junior Maya Louis who finished with eight. Two additional players finished with six kills, rookie Corinne Horanzy and senior Lindsay Anderson. Among the leaders, Goodwin led the way with a .316 hitting average with three errors in 19 attempts. As a team, Hartford finished with a season-best hitting percentage of .292 with 45 kills and 14 errors in 106 attacks.
Junior setter Jackie Tamburri finished with 41 assists, her third highest assist total in a single match in 2013. With her 41 assists, Tamburri is now under 400 assists in her quest to reach 3,000 career assists. Tamburri also finished as one of the Hawks leading defenders adding 11 digs for her sixth double double of the season.
Nethersole joined her classmate in the double double category, collecting her fifth double dip of the year, adding a team-best 13 digs. Freshman Libero joined the pair of junior's in leading the team defensively adding 12 digs. Hartford also finished with five total blocks, led by Anderson who had a hand in four of the Hawks blocks. Her four block assists now give her 166 total, one shy of tying Erin Macro for third all-time since the start of rally scoring.
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The Hawks opened their second mid-week road match of the season on fire, finishing the first set with a 25-17 victory and hitting a season-best .429 for a single set. Hartford finished that opening set with 18 kills, the most for either team in any one set, and three errors in 35 attempts. Individually, Anderson led the team with five kills and one error for a .500 hitting average. Three other players finished with four kills in the opening set, Nethersole, Horanzy and Goodwin.
After never relinquishing a lead or even allowing a tie score in the opening set, the Hawks and Bulldogs needed eight extra points to determine a victor with Hartford coming out ahead 30-28. Hartford and Bryant combined for 12 ties and three lead changes in the second set. A pair of Hawks led the way in set two with Nethersole and Goodwin each putting down five kills, while Tamburri collected an assist in all of the Hawks 15 kills.
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In the third set, the Bulldogs scored the first point and held that lead until late in the set. Bryant opened up as much as a six point advantage in the third set, 9-3, while Hartford answered that deficit by scoring five straight points to pull within one. Hartford wasn't able to tie the score over the next 15 points with the first stalemate coming at 16-16 thanks to a service ace from senior Brooke Tallinger.
The Hawks and Bulldogs tied the score five additional times before the hawks took a lead for good on a kill from senior Lindsay Swan. The Hawks opened up their biggest lead, three, at 24-21 on an ace from Tamburri. After allowing Bryant to pull within one on an attacking error, the Hawks secured the match victory with a service error on the Bulldogs, winning the final set 25-23.
The Hawks will travel just 10 miles for their next three matches as they compete in the CCSU Blue Devils Invitational on Friday and Saturday, September 20 and 21. Hartford opens their final regular season tournament against the host Blue Devils on Friday at 4 p.m. On Saturday the Hawks will play Fordham (11 a.m.) and NJIT (4 p.m.) as they prepare for their final non-conference match on Wednesday, September 25 at Quinnipiac (7 p.m.).
