Volleyball Opens Season With a Split on Friday at Buffalo Tournament

Sophomore Emily Cochran had a team-best 28 kills as the Central Connecticut volleyball team split a pair of matches on the first of the University at Buffalo Tournament on Friday. They topped Delaware State 3-2 in the first match of the day and came back from down two sets to one to earn the victory. They dropped a 3-0 decision to Navy in the second match. The Blue Devils will play the host Bulls on Saturday at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Cochran led the Blue Devils with 19 kills in the first match of the day, a 3-2 win over Delaware State. The Blue Devils trailed two sets to one before winning sets four and five to claim their first victory of the season.

Blaike King added 14 kills against just four errors in the victory, as the Blue Devils had 51 kills and hit .156 as a team. Senior captain Amanda Bayer had 40 assists in the match and added 21 digs.

Kaitlin Petrella had 24 digs to lead the Blue Devils defensively.

Down two sets to one the Blue Devils won game four 25-18 and then came from behind in the fifth set to win 15-12. It was the first match of the season for Central, while Delaware St. fell to 2-3.

In the second match of the day the Blue Devils dropped a 3-0 decision to Navy, falling to 1-1 on the season. Cochran again led the offense with nine kills, but the Blue Devils had 29 errors to go along with their 29 kills. Bayer had 21 assists and Petrella added 19 digs defensively.

The Blue Devils will finish play at Buffalo by playing the host Bulls at 5 p.m. on Saturday.