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Student-athletes from all six fall teams earn all-academic honors

Complete listing.pdf

Eastern's honorees.pdf

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- A total of  32 Eastern Connecticut State University student-athletes representing all six fall sports earned spots on the Fall, 2011 Little East Conference All-Academic Team.

Seniors who were attaining spots on the fall academic honor roll for the maximum third time were Ryan Hughes (Cheshire) and Bryan Jorge (Bristol) of the men's cross country program, Sam Konopka (Hebron) and Jo-Ann Merheb (Bethel) of the women's soccer program and Carl Appel (West Windsor, NJ) of the men's soccer program.

Among the eight full-fledged LEC member institutions, Eastern recorded the second-highest total of all-academic team qualifiers in the fall.

Additional academic honor roll repeaters from last fall were junior Ryan Franklin (Glastonbury) from men's cross country, junior Denica Gagnon (Colchester) and senior Amanda Quinones (Trumbull) from women's cross country, senior Lyndsey Zavisza (Suffield) and junior Rochelle Normandin (South Windsor) from field hockey, juniors Jordan Munsell (Waterford) and Cory Tobler (Portland) from men's soccer, juniors Mackenzie MacLeod (Northfield) and Daniela Marchitto (Orange) from women's soccer, senior Gianna Trombino (East Moriches, NY) and junior Danielle Bourne (Branford) from women's volleyball. Senior women's volleyball player Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton) returned to the team after qualifying as a sophomore in 2009.

To qualify for the team, a student-athlete must have reached sophomore athletic and academic status with a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30.

In addition to their athletic accomplishments, five of the student-athletes were recognized by the conference for their on-field successes this past fall: Quinones ran to All-New England Alliance honors for the third time with an 11th-place finish in the conference championships Oct. 29; Marchitto was named LEC Offensive Player-of-the-Year and to the all-conference first team; Appel was the first-team All-LEC goalkeeper, and Tobler was named to the second team.

Eastern's total of 335 all-academic selections since the program's inception in the fall of 2007 ranks it second among the eight conference institutions - the second most in the conference - 44 more than the third-place institution.

In 2010/11, Eastern featured the most academic honor roll achievers in all three playing seasons, totaling 89; in 2009/10, Eastern won the inaugural Presidents' Cup for having the highest cumulative GPA of all conference institutions.

Slonski in volleyball and Appel, Smiles in men's soccer are selected

From far left: Slonski, Appel, Smiles

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - Eastern Connecticut State University senior volleyball player Samantha Slonski (Griswold) and senior men's soccer players Carl Appel (West Windsor, NJ) and Aaron Smiles (Bedford, MA) have been selected to participate in their respective upcoming New England Division III senior all-star games.

Slonski, a  5-foot-7 inch setter/outside hitter,  is one of 33 selections to the New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA) Senior Classic, while Appel and Smiles are among 36 selections to the New England Intercollegiate Soccer League (NEISL) All-Star Game.

The soccer showcase is scheduled for this Sunday at 11 a.m. on the Harvard University turf field in Cambridge. The volleyball all-star game is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 4 at 11:30 a.m. at the Clark Athletic Center on the University of Massachusett Boston. A 10 a.m. skills competition will precede the exhibition match.

A total of 33 different institutions are represented in the volleyball all-star game, with the soccer contest representing 21 New England institutions. The Little East Conference will be represented with six selections from four institutions to the volleyball game and four conference players representing two institutions will compete in the soccer match.

Slonski becomes the 22nd Eastern selection to the volleyball all-star game since 1987 - first since Marianna Capomolla and Jessica Keogh five seasons ago. The selections of Appel, a goalkeeper, and Smiles, a defender, bring to 15 - seven in the last five years -- the number of Eastern players tabbed to the soccer all-star game.

This past season, Slonski led the Warriors in assists (458)  for the third time in four years and ranked first in attack attempts (793), second in kills (278) and digs (343) and third in service aces (35). In her career, Slonski finished seventh all-time in assists (1,826) and in the top 15 in digs (1,168).

Behind Slonski, Eastern regained a spot in the Little East post-season tournament this past fall after a year's absence under interim head coach Pete Maneggia and upset higher-seeded Western Connecticut State University in the first round on the road. The Warriors finished with at least 20 wins (20-10) for the 26th time in the program's 37-year history.

This past year, Smiles was named LEC Defensive Player-of-the-Year and became only the second Eastern player in 23 years of LEC men's soccer to be named to the all-conference team as many as four times. He earned first-team accolades for the third straight year.  Appel was named to the all-conference team for the third time this past fall, second time as a first-teamer. 

Smiles started all 19 matches in which he appeared (missing three with a concussion), averaging 82.8 minutes per match and contributing five assists to improve his career total in that department o 29 - the most by an Eastern player in at least the last 22 seasons.

Overall, Appel tied the program record with ten full shutouts in backstopping the team to a program season-record  of 14. He finished the season with a 13-6-1 record, a 0.70 goals-against average and .854 save percentage, ranking 24th  nationally in save percentage and 36thth in GAA. As a team, Eastern ranked fourth in shutout percentage (.636/14 in 22 matches), 15th in save percentage and 21st in GAA.

In seven regular-season conference matches this past year, Appel allowed only one goal for a 0.14 goals-against average. In conference regular-season play, he also led the loop in save percentage (.968) and shutouts (5). 

Under fifth-year head coach Greg DeVito in 2011, Eastern finished 15-6-1 (one win shy of the program record which was set two years ago), 6-1-0 in the Little East and became the first team in the program's 51-year history to record as many as five straight seasons of ten or more wins. The Warriors, ranked eighth in the final NSCAA New England rankings, qualified for post-season play for the fifth straight year, fourth as NCAA tournament participants.

Eastern finished with a share of first place in the final conference standings for the third time under DeVito, winning outright its second regular-season title and going on to its third conference tournament championship.

 Top-seeded Panthers attack at .405 in LEC semifinal sweep of Warriors

PLYMOUTH, NH -  The fifth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team attacked 55 percent points higher than its season average Saturday afternoon against top-seeded Plymouth State University in the semifinal-round of the 2011 Little East Conference tournament at Foley Gymasium.

The problem was that the host Panthers attacked over 150 percent points better than their average and eliminated the Warriors in straight sets, 25-21, 25-17, 25-18.

A winner of six straight and 11 of 12, Plymouth (23-9) moves into the tournament championship match for the fourth time, looking for its second title. The Panthers meet No. 2 seed and two-time defending champion Massachusetts Boston Sunday at noon. The Beacons bounced back from a first-set loss to edge No. 3 seed Keene State College later Saturday.

Led by senior Samantha Slonski (Griswold), Eastern (20-10) attacked at .235 Saturday but Plymouth checked in at .405, commiting only four attack errors all afternoon long in snapping Eastern's four-match winning streak.

Junior Casey Stoodley  and sophomore Allie Jones combined for 28 kills with just one hitting error for Plymouth, which swept Eastern for the second time in two weeks, with none of those sets being decided by more than eight points.Stoodley had 16 kills with no errors while Jones contributed 12 kills and just one error.

Slonski had 12 kills and a .296 atack percentage while collecting nine digs and 11 assists.  Junior Katie Wilson (Pittsburg, CA) chipped in with nine kills and senior Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton)  added five kills and  three service aces. Senior Taylor Abelli (Cheshire) and sophomore Erynn Miller (Stratford) paced the back row defenders with 13 and 11 digs, respectively.

Plymouth jumped out to a quick five-point lead in the first set, and maintained the lead the whole way.  Eastern rallied midway through the set to pull within a point at 18-17, but Plymouth won five of the next six points to pull away.  Slonski added a pair of kills to keep Eastern close, but a Tedeschi kill and Jones block closed out the set, 25-21.

The second set was another tight battle. The Panthers never trailed, but didn't lead by more than four points until the end.  With Eastern within two points at 14-12, Plymouth went on a 6-2 run to open up a 20-14 margin. Morin added a pair of kills and Tedeschi and Cady added a block to finish off the set, 25-17.

The Panthers opened up a five-point early in the third set.  Eastern played tough, rallying to cut the deficit to 11-9, but the hosts took over at that point with eight of the next  10 points to make it 18-11.

Senior setter Sarah Cady had 40 assists for Plymouth, which also got seven kills from senior Meghan Sullivan, six from sophomore Kaitlyn Tedeschi and five from junior Elissa Morin. Senior Danielle Stoodley  recorded a team-high 16 digs.

  Plymouth, which shocked heavily-favored UMass Boston in straight sets 11 days ago in Boston, will meet UMass  in the final for the second time in three years. The Panthers won their only LEC title in 2004, over Eastern. The Panthers were second to Western Connecticut in 2003 and second to UMass Boston in 2009. UMass Boston is making its fourth (straight) LEC finals appearance. The Beacons lost to Keene State in 2008, beat Plymouth in 2009 and downed Keene State in last year's final.

Eastern returned to the LEC tournament this season after a one-year's absence, stopping fourth-seeded Western Connecticut Tuesday in the first round in five sets.

Under first-year head coach Pete Maneggia, Eastern turned around last year's 13-15 campaign to post its second 20-win season in four years and record its best winning percentage in five years.

Abelli concluded her career ranked second all-time with 1,869 digs and Slonski was seventh with 1,826 assists. Ibsen ranks fifth in kills (1,151) and total attacks (2,846) and seventh in attack percentage (.271).

Plymouth State University Sports Information Office contributed to this report.

No. 5  Eastern moves on to semifinals after upending No. 4 Western

Tournament Central

DANBURY, Conn. -  The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team did what it has done best the last few weeks: erase a 2-1 deficit and win in five sets.

At right: The Warriors celebrate their five-set LEC first-round victory Tuesday night.

Returning to the Little East Conference playoffs Tuesday night after a year's absence, fifth-seeded Eastern (20-9) bounced back after losing two of the first three sets to eliminate fourth-seeded Western Connecticut State University (24-9) in five at the O'Neill Center and advance to the Final Four this weekend at Plymouth, NH. Game scores were 31-29, 17-25, 14-25, 25-21 and 15-9.

The Warriors face top-seeded host Plymouth State University in the first semifinal Saturday at Foley Gymnasium at 2 p.m., and second-seeded and two-time defending champion Massachusetts Boston meets third-seeded Keene State College at 4.  Keene advanced past sixth-seeded Rhode Island College in four sets Tuesday night. The tournament final is scheduled for noon Sunday at Plymouth. During the regular season, Eastern was swept by the three other remaining teams.

Western came into Tuesday night's match hot, riding a five-match winning streak and having won eight of its last ten. Eastern, however, came in with even more momentum and also looking to avenge a three-set loss at Western Oct. 4 in a match decided by 11 total points. Since losing that tight three-set match, the Warriors had won 11 of their last 14 (and three of their final LEC contests) entering the tournament. Of its last three victories, two had come in five sets after the Warriors had dropped two of the first three games. The first had come over UMass Dartmouth in a home match which lifted Eastern into the playoffs, and the second came a night later on the road at Wesleyan University - a locale which has always created problems for Eastern.

Against Western, 6-foot-2 inch junior Katie Wilson (Pittsburg, CA) had 17 kills, six blocks and three service aces and was 4-for-4 in kills with two blocks and an ace in the deciding set.

As a team, Eastern collected 13 blocks and did not commit a reception error until late in the second set.

Senior outside hitter/setter Samantha Slonski (Griswold) and senior middle hitter Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton) followed Wilson with 16 and ten kills each, with Slonski adding ten digs and 19 assists.

Defensively, sophomore Erynn Miller (Stratford) and senior libero Taylor Abelli (Cheshire) combined for 41 digs, Miller leading all players with 22. Abelli commited only one reception error on 33 attempts and Miller only two on 31.Senior setter Gianna Trombino (East Moriches, NY) came off the bench for 23 assists and two service aces.

Eastern set the tempo with a spirited 31-29 victory in the opener - Ibsen and junior Shannon Burke (Manchester) providing a late spark with a block solo each -- but faced the end of their season after losing the second and third sets. Eastern forced the hosts to play catch-up throughout the fourth set and the Colonials finally did at 19-all. But two kills by Slonski and one by Ibsen and two Western attack errors accounted for perhaps the five biggest points of the season as Eastern pulled away to force an elimination game.

Having reached the decisive fifth set, the Warriors won for the fifth time in six tries this season.in the fifth set. A kill by Wilson gave the Warriors the lead for good at 8-7, and after the teams traded benches, Western was guilty of an attack error, and Wilson and first-year sophomore Nicki Gasch (New Milford) blocked Western's top offensive player, Paxton Thornton, as the Warriors surged to a 10-7. Wilson then all but decided things with consecutive kills and a service ace as Eastern ran off the final four points to seal the victory.

One of the top offensive players in the conference, the six-foot Thornton of Western led all players with 28 kills, 5-foot-5 inch freshman Nina Wojtkiewicz adding 17. Freshman setter Jennifer Hogan set for 52 assists and Kelley Collins had 21 digs and four service aces.

The victory ended a four-match losing streak for Eastern at the hands of Western, which had eliminated the Warriors in straight sets when the teams had met in the first round of the LEC tournament two years ago on the same floor.

In 2007, Eastern defeated Western in three sets in the LEC tournament championship match at Keene, NH. Also as the No. 5 seed that year, the Warriors won three road decisions to capture their seventh and most recent title. Before sweeping Western in the championship match that season, Eastern had eliminated fourth-seeded Rhode Island College and top-seeded Keene State on their home floors -- both in five sets..

Eastern eases past USM in finale, gears up for Western in LEC first round

Tournament Central

GORHAM, Maine - After six emotional Little East Conference matches this season, the Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team enjoyed a respite Saturday morning - before jumping back into the fray in three days.

Above: Eastern seniors (from left) Kristianna Ibsen, Samantha Slonski, Taylor Abelli and Gianna Trombino will lead the Warriors and head coach Pete Maneggia into the Little East tournament Tuesday at Western Connecticut.

In the Little East Conference regular-season finale, Eastern (19-9, 3-4 Little East) breezed past under-manned University of Southern Maine, 25-9, 25-10  Saturday at the Warren  Hill Gymnasium and ended its regular season with wins in 11 of its final 13 matches, including three of its final four LEC contests after an 0-3 start.

With Eastern having assured itself a spot in the LEC tournament after a one-year hiatus earlier in the week with a 3-2 win over visiting UMass Dartmouth,  all 11 eligible players saw action Saturday as the Warriors defeated Southern Maine (0-22, 0-7 Little East) for the 12th time in 13 meetings in this series.

The fifth-seeded Warriors will visit fourth-seeded Western Connecticut State University  (24-8, 5-2 Little East) in a first-round match at Feldman Arena at 7 p.m. in search of their 26th 20-win season in the program's 37-year history. The winner will advance to the LEC Final Four Saturday and Sunday at Foley Gymnasium on the Plymouth State University campus and will play the host Panthers in the semifinals  at 6 p.m. Sunday's  title game is set for noon.

Western swept the regular-season meeting between the teams at Danbury on Oct. 4, winning by 25-19, 25-22, 27-25. Eastern was also swept by UMass Boston, Plymouth State and Keene and swept Rhode Island College.

Eastern and Western, which have combined for nine of the 13 LEC championships, will square off in the tournament for the third time in five years. Western swept a first-round match in 2009 after the Warriors swept the Colonials in the 2007 championship tilt at Keene, NH.

Plymouth gained a surprising No. 1 seed after sweeping two-time defending regular-season and tournament champion UMass Boston last week. The teams shared the regular-season title with 6-1 records, while Western and Keene tied for third, two games ahead of Eastern.

Against Southern Maine, 6-foot-2 inch junior Katie Wilson (Pittsburg, CA)  had five kills and a .556 attack percentage, seven service aces and eight digs; senior Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton) seven  kills and a .583 attack percentage and six service aces; senior Samantha Slonski (Griswold) six kills and 11 assists; and senior Gianna Trombino  (East Moriches, NY) 14 assists.

For the second time in two nights, they erase 2-to-1 deficit to record win

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - For the second time in as many nights, the Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to record a five-set victory.

At left: Katie Wilson

Wednesday night, the Warriors  won the final two sets by scores of 25-17 and 15-13  for a come-from-behind victory over Wesleyan University in a non-conference match. Tuesday night at Geissler Gym, Eastern (18-9) rallied from a set down for  25-19, 15-5  victories over Massachusetts Dartmouth that carried it into the Little East Conference tournament.

The five-set match was the fifth this year for Eastern, which has won four times. The Warriors had played - and won - only two five-set contests through their first 26 matches but has now played three in a row. Last Saturday, they dropped a five-set decision to the University of New England at Plymouth, NH.

In winning for the 23rd time in this 34-match series with Wesleyan (8-17), Eastern never trailed in the fifth set. With the score tied at 12, senior Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton) put the Warriors ahead for good with a kill and Eastern moved to within a point of match point on a Wesleyan attack error. Freshman Allie Henry's (Middletown)  only kill of the match sealed the victory and evened Eastern's record on its opponent's court  this season at 4-4.

With Eastern facing elimination in the fourth set, junior Katie Wilson (Pittsburg, CA) had four kills in five attempts and Ibsen four in nine tries to lead the Warriorrs to an eight-point win. Up  by a point, Eastern ran off six of the next seven to move out to a 16-10  lead.  Henry and Wilson each had five digs in that set.
 
Wilson  and Ibsen carried Eastern back from a sixpoint deficit in the first set, combing for seven kills on their last seven attempts, and senior libero Taylor Abelli (Cheshire) came up with five digs.

Wilson led Eastern with 17 kills and a .385 attack percentage. Ibsen followed with 14 kills and junior Shannon Burke (Manchester) and sophomore Erynn Miller (Stratford) chipped in five each. Abelli handled 25 receptions without an error and Wilson 21 with ony two. Wilson and Abelli led the way with 15 digs each, Henry adding ten and senior Gianna Trombino (East Moriches, NY) with nine.  Ibsen collected a team-high five blocks, and Wilson three service aces. Trombino led the Warriors with 19 assists, henry adding 15.

Eastern closes out the regular season Saturday with a Little East Conference match the University of Southern Maine.
 

In must-win situation, Warriors emerge with five-set victory over UMD

Seniors honored before the final regular-season home matcher were (from left) Gianna Trombino, Samantha Slonski, Kristianna Ibsen, and Taylor Abelli.

Post-game interview with head coach Pete Maneggia WATCH (3:57)

WILLIMANTIC,Conn. --  The women's volleyball rivalry between Eastern Connecticut State University and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has been decidedly one-sided in the Warriors' favor over the past 25 years, but that does not mean that it has not been a hotly-contested one.

Tuesday was no exception.

In a match which all but decided the Little East Conference post-season fate of both institutions, Eastern won the final two sets after losing the first and third sets to gain a five-set decision and guarantee itself a return to the LEC post-season tournament after a one-year hiatus.

Eastern (17-9, 2-4 Lilttle East) won the match by 22-25, 25-10, 23-25, 25-19 and 15-5 and breaks a two-way tie for sixth place with UMass Dartmouth (13-15, 1-5 Little East) in the conference standings.

The Corsairs are eliminated from LEC playoff contention while Eastern moves into a two-way tie for fifth place with Rhode Island College. Holding the tie-breaker over RIC by virtue of their regular-season win over the Anchorwomen, the Warriors are unofficially guaranteed the No. 5 seed in the tournament if they finish tied with RIC in the final standings. Saturday, Eastern visits the University of Southern Maine (0-20, 0-6 Little East) in the regular-season finale at Gorham, ME,  and Rhode Island visits Plymouth State University.

The No. 5 seed will visit the No. 4 seed in first-round matches Tuesday.

With one regular-season LEC match remaining for all teams, defending champion University of Massachusetts Boston, Plymouth State and Keene State College all share first place with 5-1 records. Western Connecticut is fourth. Plymouth forced the three-way logjam atop the standings Tuesday after handing UMass Boston its first LEC loss in three years with a three-set sweep in Boston. .

Against UMass Dartmouth, Eastern never trailed in the deciding set. The Warriors had had nine kills and only one attack error in the set. Eastern  scored five straight points to take a 7-2 lead in the set. Sophomore Erynn Miller (Stratford) had four digs and senior Samantha Slonski (Griswold), and juniors Shannon Burke (Manchester) and Katie Wilson (Pittsburg, CA) two kills each. In the 5-0 run that gave Eastern the momentum or good, Miller, Wilson and Burke all had kills and senior Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton) had consecutive service aces to make it 7-2.

Eastern lost its two sets by a total of five points. Down 1-0, the Warriors never trailed in the second set, scoring five straight points to move out to an early 9-4 lead on the way to the 15-point win.

Facing elimination and possibly post-season extinction after losing the third set, the Warriors seized the momentum by outscoring the visitors  6-1 to take a 20-15 lead on the way to the six-point win in the fourth set. Slonski had four kills and seven digs in the set, senior libero Taylor Abelli (Cheshire) six digs, Wilson five and Miller four. After a UMD service error and an ace by Miller gave Eastern a 16-14 lead, Eastern won perhaps the biggest point of the night following an extended rally, the Warriors finally receiving the point on a Corsair error.  A kill by junior Danielle Bourne (Branford), an illegal UMD back row attack and a block by Wilson and Bourne made it 20-15.

After winning 33 straight matches in this series, Eastern sustained a four-set loss at UMass Dartmouth a year ago en route to a 1-6 conference record.

Tuesday, Wilson had 11 kills, 16 digs and six blocks, Ibsen 11 kills and  Slonski nine kills, 23 digs, and 16 assists. Miller added 23 digs, Abelli 20 digs; Bourne chipped in three blocks, seven  kills, nine digs and five assists and senior Gianna Trombino (East Moriches, NY) 12 assists and eight digs. As a team,Eastern averaged 20 digs in the first four sets and added nine more in the 15-point finale.

For UMD, Cami Ascher had 14 kills and Allie Mastrocola six, Shannon Brodie 15 digs, Amanda Micco seven and  Jessica Goncalves 25 assists

Eastern visits Wesleyan University Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Tuesday's LEC home match against UMass Dartmouth now looms large,

PLYMOUTH, N.H. --  The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team continues to be competitive against the top teams in the Little East Conference this year, but has little to show for it.

At left (from left): Taylor Abelli, Katie Wilson and Samantha Slonski.

Saturday, with an opportunity to take a giant step toward regaining a spot in next month's conference tournament after a year's absence, the Warriors faltered down the stretch in the first two sets and were swept by Plymouth State University at Foley Gymnasium.

Now 1-4 in the conference with two winnable matches remaining, Eastern (16-9) hosts Massachusetts Dartmouth Tuesday at Geissler Gymnasium before closing out the season at the University of Southern Maine Saturday. UMass and Eastern share sixth place in the conference- the final post-season tournament spot - while Southern Maine has lost all five of its conference matches.

Saturday against Plymouth (18-9, 4-1 Little East), Eastern couldn't hold an early lead in the first set but rebounded from a six-point deficit midway through the second before eventually losing both by a total of five points, 25-22 and 26-24.  With the Warriors trailing by three points in the third set, Plymouth ripped off four straight points and nine of the last 13 to record a 25-17 victory.

Forty-eight minutes after the loss, Eastern returned to the court and eventually dropped a five-set non-conference decision to the University of New England (14-11) in games which were decided by a total of 18 points. Eastern lost 24-26, 28-26, 19-25, 25-21 and 11-15.

While three of Plymouth's top offensive players attacked at least .200 against the Warriors, Eastern attacked in negative numbers in the first two sets and finished the match with a .029 attack percentage. However, 12 service errors by Plymouth helped the Warriors stay close.

Junior middle hitter Katie Wilson's (Pittsburg, CA) kill pushed the Warriors into a 22-21 lead in the first set but Plymouth closed out the win with the final four points. A kill by Plymouth's top offensive player - Casey Stoodley - tied the second set and Eastern's only reception error of the set gave the hosts a 23-22 lead. The Warriors momentarily survived set point on Wilson's kill that tied it at 24, but a Plymouth kill off an Eastern block and a kill by Elissa Morin gave Plymouth the two-point win.

New England 3, Eastern Conn. 2

Eastern had won both of its previous matches this year that were extended to five sets.
Against UNE,  Eastern scored the final five points of the fourth set - the final three coming on a kill by junior Danielle Bourne (Branford) and two service aces by senior Gianna Trombino (East Moriches, NY) - to force a final 15-point fifth set.

The Warriors scored three of the first four points of the decisive set but fell behind for good when UNE scored three straight points on a kill, block and Eastern attack error Wilson had four kills in the fifth set and the Warriors did not have a reception error and only one service error.

On the way to winning the Crabtree Classic two weeks ago, Eastern had swept New England.
 In 18 sets Saturday, Eastern attacked at .105 and totaled 20 service errors. Senior middle hitter Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton), senior outside/setter Samantha Slonski (Griswold) and Wilson combined for 54 kills. Sophomore Erynn Miller (Stratford) had 37 digs, senior libero Taylor Abelli (Cheshire) 27 and Wilson 20. The second of three digs by Abelli in the first set against Plymouth moved her into third place all-time at Eastern ahead of Courtney Davidson (1994-97).

Miller was perfect on 26 receptions on the day and Bourne handled 19 of 20, Abelli 35 of 38 and Wilson 39 of 42. In the fourth set against UNE that forced a finale, Trombino had six digs, two service aces and three assists.

In first meeting in 25 years, they remain perfect against Framingham

Below: Kristianna Ibsen

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- In the first meeting between the programs in 25 years, sophomore Erynn Miller (Stratford) had a career-high 16 digs and three players combined for 25 kills  to carry the Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team to its ninth win in its last 11 matches, 3-0, over Framingham State University Wednesday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. Game scores were 25-18, 25-21, 25-11.

Seniors Samantha Slonski (Griswold) and Kristianna Ibsen (Shelton), and junior Katie Wilson (Pittsburg, CA) combined for 25 of Eastern's 37 kills and combined on a .391 attack percentage as Eastern (16-7) surged to its eighth straight home victory after three opening losses.

Framingham (16-9) had won its last three, six of seven and ten of 13 heading into the match. The teams were meeting for the first time since 1986. The Warriors have won ten straight sets in four victories in as many tries in the series.

Slonski  had 12 kills and a .450 attack percentage, Ibsen seven kills and a .333 attack perentage and Wilson six kills and a .357 attack percentage. Slonski also had three service aces, eight assists and seven digs and Wilson nine digs. Senior Gianna Trombino (East Moriches, NY) added 11 assists and five digs and freshman Allie Henry (Middletown) 11 assists.

Eastern did not commit an attack error in the third set, Slonski collecting six kills in seven attempts.

Framingham  got 11 digs and four kills from Ashley Nee and nine digs from Michelle DeJesus. Morgan Drew had 13 assists.

A winner of its first Little East Conference match Oct. 11 against Rhode Island College after three opening losses, the Warriors return to conference play Saturday against Plymouth State University at Foley Gymnasium at noon, and will also face the University of New England in a non-conference match at 1:30 p.m.

Eastern shares fifth place in the conference with Rhode Island College. Plymouth (17-9, 3-1 LEC)) is tied for second place with Keene State College  The top six teams in the eight-team conference qualify for the LEC playoffs, which get underway Nov. 1.

Eastern Conn. 3, Framingham State U. 0

Framingham State (16-9) 18 21 11
Eastern Conn. (16-7)  25 25 25