Petrella Records Season Best 28 Digs, CCSU Falls in NEC Quarterfinal

Sophomore Kaitlin Petrella tallied a match best 28 kills, but the Central Connecticut (11-14) volleyball team fell to Sacred Heart (18-12) in the quarterfinals of the Northeast Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon in Moon Township, PA. Sophomore Lauren Snyder finished with a team high 11 kills and added nine digs for the Blue Devils in their final match of the season.

Sacred Heart defeated CCSU in the first two sets by scores of 28-26 and 25-20. The Pioneers recorded a hitting percentage of .138, while the Blue Devils hit at a rate of .111 in the first two sets. CCSU fought back to win the third set 25-15, but SHU won the match with a 25-12 fourth set victory.

Snyder notched three aces to go along with her nine digs and team best 11 kills. Junior Jamie Baumert recorded a match best 11 blocks in the loss, while sophomore setter Amanda Bayer tallied a team high 30 assists. The Allen, TX native also finished with 12 digs in the match. Senior captain Amanda Olmstead also recorded double digit kills, tallying 10 in the match. The middle blocker also finished with eight digs in the loss.

The Pioneers were led by Ashlyn Trimble who recorded a match best 13 kills, while adding 14 digs and seven aces.

CCSU finishes the season with a record of 11-14. With only two seniors on this year's squad, the Blue Devils should be back in the thick of things in the NEC next season. Sacred Heart improves to 18-12 on the season and move on to the NEC semifinal to face second seeded Long Island at 6:30 p.m.