Volleyball Takes Two Matches at Hartford Invitational Saturday

Central Connecticut won a pair of matches on Saturday at the Hartford Invitational. CCSU stopped NJIT, 3-1,in the opening match of the day, before sweeping Hartford, 3-0. The Blue Devils improved to 6-3 on the season with the wins.

Match 1: CCSU 3, NJIT 1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17)

Central opened the second day at the Hartford Invitational with a win over NJIT. Junior Raquel Quirarte posted her second consecutive double-double  and had a team-high 14 kills. She added 12 digs. Sophomore Erin McDermott added a double-double with 22 assists and 18 digs.

CCSU went on a 6-1 run midway through the opening set to open a 17-11 lead after a kill by sophomore Morgan Woycik. NJIT would close within a point late in the set, but Central would respond with a kill from senior Maddie Smith to end the threat before scoring the final two points to close out the set.

The Highlanders scored six unanswered points to build an 8-3 lead in the second set and would lead throughout to tie the match.

The Blue Devils used three straight kills to build a 10-8 lead in the third set. CCSU would lead the rest of the way and scored the final four points of the frame to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Central scored five straight points in the fourth set to build a 5-1 lead and would not trail the rest of the way. The Blue Devils would push the lead to as many as 10 points and would close the match out on a kill from Woycik.

Sophomore Madelyn Kaprelyan add 13 kills and five blocks for CCSU. Senior Lindsey Massicotte led four Blue Devils in double-figures with 29 digs. Freshman Ashlyn Eisenga added 10 digs. Freshman Jordyn Dube had 21 assists.

Match 2: CCSU 3, Hartford 0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-17)

Central closed out its weekend with a sweep of Hartford. Smith led the Blue Devils with 12 kills, while adding six digs and six blocks. 

Freshman Samantha McCreath added nine kills, 11 digs and five blocks. Quirarte had nine kills, and 12 digs. Massicotte had a team-high 22 digs, while McDermott had 16 assists and junior Kaitlyn Kushman added 14 digs. 

Central built a 24-20 lead in the opening set before the Hawks drew even. CCSU would take advantage of a Hartford error and get a kill from Quirarte to win the set.

In the second set, CCSU used a run of six unanswered points to build an early 9-4 lead and then closed out the set with four straight points to build a 2-0 lead.

Central took control of the third set with a 6-1 lead to open and never trailed. The Blue Devils closed out the match by scoring the final four points.

Smith and Massicotte both earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

CCSU returns to action at Iona on Wednesday, Sept. 13.