Volleyball Opens CCSU Invitational With Sweep of Hartford
Blue Devils return to action against Brown and Holy Cross on Saturday.
The Central Connecticut volleyball team swept Hartford, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15), to open the CCSU Invitational on Friday afternoon. Freshman Raquel Quirarte totaled a match-high 16 kills and senior Makenna Lommori handed out 31 assists to help CCSU improve to 7-4 on the season.
The Blue Devils took control of the match from the outset and built a quick 5-1 lead in the opening set. The Hawks were unable to get any closer than two points the rest of the set and kills by Quirarte and sophomore Maddie Smith closed out the set.
Central hit an impressive .393 in the second set as a team and raced to a 6-0 lead out of the gate with sophomore Lindsey Massicotte serving to open the set. Hartford (0-12) was unable to get closer than 12-9 and three straight service points by Massicotte followed by a kill from Quirarte closed out the set for CCSU, 25-16.
The third set was tied 9-9 before a run of 9-1 helped CCSU build a 18-10 lead. An ace by freshman Kaitlyn Kushman closed out the set and gave the Blue Devils a three-set win.
The CCSU defense held the Hawks to a .031 hitting percentage, with junior Rachel Fish collecting 13 digs along with sophomore Maddie Smith putting up five total blocks in the match. The Blue Devils racked up eight total team blocks.
Katy Henchy led Hartford with 11 kills, while Astrid Mangual had 22 assists.
Central returns to action on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. against Brown at Detrick Gym.
