Volleyball Drops a Pair of Matches at Fairfield Invitational

The Central Connecticut volleyball team fell in a pair of matches Saturday to conclude play at the Fairfield Invitational in Fairfield, CT. The Blue Devils opened the day with a 3-1 setback against Northeastern, before falling to Michigan State, 3-0 to conclude its weekend. Junior Madelyn Kaprelyan earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

CCSU slips to 2-8 overall on the season.

MATCH 1: Northeastern 3, CCSU 1
The Blue Devils fell to the Huskies to begin the day by scores of 26-24, 25-13, 23-25, 25-19. Kaprelyan led Central with 13 kills in the match.

Northeastern scored four straight to build a 15-11 lead in the opening game, but the Blue Devils would respond with sophomore Samantha McCreath serving four points during a 5-0 run to take a lead of 20-18. A kill by Kaprelyan would set up game point for Central, but the Huskies bounced back with three straight points to take the first game.

NU took a 12-6 lead in the second game with a 6-1 run. CCSU would not get closer than four points in the game and the Huskies closed out the game with three straight points to take a 2-0 game in the match.

CCSU would erase a six-point deficit in the third game by rattling off an 11-4 run. Consecutive kills by sophomore Emma Henderson, senior Raquel Quirarte and sophomore Ashlyn Eisenga would give Central a 23-22 lead. After a Huskies point, Kaprelyan and Quirarte posted back-to-back kills to close the game and extend the match.

NU overcame a two-point deficit in the fourth game with a 6-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. Central would manage to get within two points, but the Huskies would hold off the Blue Devils to take the game and the match.

Junior Erin McDermott had 23 assists, while senior Kaitlyn Kushman finished with 11. Eisenga and Henderson had 17 and 13 digs, respectively. Juniors Morgan Woycik and Gala Galabova each had five blocks.

Northeastern improved to 3-7 with the win.

MATCH 2: Michigan State 3, CCSU 0
Central fell to MSU by scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-19 to close out the weekend. Quirarte had a team-high 10 kills and 11 digs for the Blue Devils.

CCSU led 15-11 midway through the opening game after a kill by Quirarte. MSU would take a 23-22 lead using a 8-1 run, but a kill by Woycik would end the run and tie the game at 23-23. The Spartans would repond with consecutive kills to take the opening game.

McDermott would serve four straight points in the second game to put Central ahead, 11-8. The Spartans called a timeout and bounced back with a 9-2 run. The Blue Devils would come back with four straight points of their own to tie the game at 17-17, but the Spartans would not give up consecutive points the rest of the game and scored the final three points of the frame to take the game.

Following a kill by Galabova, CCSU led 5-4 in the early-going of the third game, but MSU came back with six straight points to take the lead. Central would tie the game at 17-17, but was unable to take the lead and the Spartans would close the game with three straight points to end the match.

McDermott had 20 assists, while Kaprelyan finished with 12 to go with eight kills. Galabova had four blocks to pace Central.

MSU improves to 9-1 on the season with the win.