[Modest 2008 Hartford Volleyball Image Gallery]

WEST HARTFORD, CT (November 7, 2008)- The Maine Black Bears came down to West Hartford to take on the Hawks Friday night.Maine was looking to improve it’s standing in the America East and the Hawks were searching for an elusive conference win.

Play in set one opened up with a Maine double contact despite an earlier good defensive save by Lindsay Allman. Maine’s Amy Lawson put her team on the board wit a big spike, and Laura Goettsch had a cross court blast of her own just in bounds to follow it up. The two teams each committed serving errors and it was 2-3 Maine. A Hartford double contact put the visitors up by 2, but Erin Macro responded or the Hawks with a blast to the defense’s left corner.Brittany Kiehl found a corner to spike the ball into as well and she followed it up with another kill to put the score at 3-6. The Hawks benefited from a Maine serve into the net, and Lindsay Makowicki’s tap over the defense, but Maine started to build a lead off a Hartford error, Kiehl’s spike off the blockers, and Jessica Wolfenden pouncing on a Hartford dig that came over the net for an overpass. She put it back into the Hawks zone for a point and the Hawks called a time out with the score 5-9. When play resumed Allman unleashed a massive spike and hammered a kill in on the following play as well. Michelle Cordell responded with a spike from the net to bring the score to 6-11, but the visitors kept at it. Allman struck again with a huge spike, though Hartford picked up a point on an errant Black Bear spike (despite an earlier save by Goettsch) Jennifer Domer had a great defensive play on the next rally, but a teammates attack flew into the net. Hartford was back within 4, 8-12, but Maine kept the lead intact.

The two teams swapped errors, and Lawson ten received a sweet and blasted it in.Hartford’s Danielle Etta had a good dig on the next lay as did libero Ashlee Wright, and Maine picked up another point.The next rally was a battle going back and forth including a Wolfenden dig, but Macro delivered a ill off the defense’s hands and out of bounds.The Hawks served out of bounds to give up a point, but Macro hammered the ball over. Hallie Fullager had two good defensive saves on the next back and forth and Lindsay Ford rolled to save a ball in play, eventually leading to a point off a Maine error.

Kiehl accepted a set and delivered the kill, and Megan Smith served up an ace which the UHA defense was unable to return. Hartford called a time out with the score 12-18, but Goettsch came out of it with a smash followed by a Hartford attack out of bounds, despite a great save by Ford earlier in the rally. Hartford’s Maddison Molyneux picked up a point on a tap over the defense and the Bears couldn’t return a serve without using four hits to put the score at 14-20, but the Hawks hit into the net on the next rally, though Molyneux whacked an attack off the blockers to keep things alive.Two Hartford errors and an Lawson smash to make it set point. A Hartford attack error ended it 15-25.

Maine 1, Hartford 0.

Set 2 was much of a battle as the two teams fought to a 9-9 tie to open the set. Maine’s points came off a Hartford block out of bounds, a Lawson kill at the net, a Hartford attack error, a Goettsch smash, a Hartford attack outside the lines, Wolfenden and Kiehl’s block, Wolfenden’s back set over the net for a point, and Lawson’s kill popping off the defense. Hartford scored of a huge spike from Macro, and a kill following a good defensive save by Bettina Woodman, Molyneux also had a good save on a play they didn’t score on, but she delivered a spike on the next point, a Maine error added a point, and it was Molyneux again with a kill, two more points followed, as did a Fullager spike off a defender’s touch, as well as a Maine serve out of bounds and another Fullager kill.

The battle wore on to an 18-18 score. Maine scored off a Samantha Andreozzi block, a Hartford error, and following a great save by her teammate Wright, Lawson blasted the ball through the defense, Wright had another great save but it was on a nonscoring play, another Hartford error gave them a point. Kiehl spiked the ball from the net to the defense’s corner, Goettsch crushed the ball through the D, Hartford hit the ball twice, Allman sent a heater into the Hartford zone, and hammered another attack soon after.Hartford’s road to 18 involved a Maine serve out of bounds, a great save by Etta before a Maine attack error, another save by Etta, though no points resulted, a 13^th point occurred,Molyneux blasted the ball down the line and Fullager found the corner.Cordell stuffed a attack with a block and Fullager spiked just in bounds, and she also won a battle at the net after an earlier save by Ford, and Maine spiked into the net as well.

Maine pulled out again after a home team serve into the net. A long rally followed with a good save by Allman among others as each team kept knocking the ball back and forth using everything and the kitchen sink to try to deliver a point. Fullager ended it with a midcourt hit of the D.The next play featured good digs from Wright and Fullager, but Goettsch came up with a big time spike to take the lead again. Kiehl and Andreozzi teamed up on a block and the score was 19-21.Hartford called a time out to regroup, but two Maine points followed off a Goettsch shot to the gap and a Hartford attack error.The Hawks called another time out, and despite good saves by Allman and Lawson, Hartford scored a point. During the next rally, the Black Bears dug a ball but it flew back over the net rather than set up an attack and Cordell returned it hard for a point. Maine called a time out of their own and when play resumed Goettsch came up with another kill and a Hartford attack error ended the set 21-25.Maine 2, Hartford 0.

Despite hustle and fighting from the Hawks, Set 3 was largely under Maine’s control.A variety of errors lead to several points as well as Molyneux’s spike, Kiehl’s block, Goettsch’s cross court smash, and another kill right after that.Wolfenden had some great defensive plays during the opening salvos, Hartford returned fire with kills, including another Fullager smash, as well as a good dig by Etta, Allman also had a great save, on a string of 3 straight Hartford attack errors.Fullager attempted to stop the bleeding with a tap over, but another Allman kill, a Hawk attack error, a Lawson and Allman tandem block, a Lawson big spike, a Allman kill from the net brought the score to 6-15 Maine in short order. Hartford called at time out to try ad stabilize the situation. Fullager came out of the play stoppage by crushing an attack off the blockers, and Maine spiked out of bounds to get the home team within 7.Maine’s Allman responded with a kill and another Hawk attack went out of bounds to put the lead at 9, but Ford’s fake set which she dinked over the net worked only to have a serve into the net an another attack out of bounds make it 9-19 Maine. Margaret Page’s spike was blocked but out of bounds and Hartford attacked outside of the lines to extend the lead.Macro unleashed a cross court rocket, but three home team errors had Maine within 1 of winning it all.Sarah Boss got in on the scoring with a kill but Page ended the set and match with a thunderbolt an it was 11-25. Maine 3, Hartford 0.