WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The University of Southern Maine women's volleyball team went 0-2 on Saturday at a tri-match hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University. The Huskies were defeated 3-1 by the Warriors in their first Little East Conference match of the season and then lost to SUNY Maritime College in five sets.
 
Junior Drew Johnson (Pismo Beach, Cali. /Brewer) had a career-high 21 digs against Eastern Connecticut and recorded a double-double in the loss to Maritime with 11 kills and 14 digs.
 
 
Game 1 vs Eastern Connecticut State
 
The Records:
Southern Maine: 3-10 (0-1 LEC)
Eastern Connecticut: 7-4 (1-0 LEC)
 
Series History:
Today's match was the 26th between the two programs. The Warriors hold a 23-3 lead in the series.
 
How It Happened:

• The Warriors used a 5-0 run to take a 15-13 lead and held the lead for the remainder of the set to win the frame 25-19.
• Eastern Connecticut went up 2-0 with a 25-13 win in the second set. A 6-0 run early on and another towards the middle of the set helped them pull away.
• Trailing two sets to none, the Huskies fought back to win the third set 25-21. Southern Maine scored the first four points, but the Warriors tied the set at 10-10. The lead changed multiple times until the Huskies scored four consecutive points to go ahead 18-15. The Warriors cut the lead to a point at 22-21 the Southern Maine closed out the set with three straight points to take the set.
• The Warriors won the fourth set 25-20 to take the match and earn their first conference win of the season.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Emma Robinson recorded a game-leading 12 kills for the warriors. Eastern Connecticut's Bella Johnson and Southern Maine's Drew Johnson tied for second with nine each.
• Maggie Barr had a solo block and four block assists for the Warriors as they led 7-5 in total blocks.
• Each side had three players record over 10 digs. Emerson Conigliaro led the Warriors in 19 followed by Praskievicz with 15 and Liz Squier with 13. Johnson led all players with 21 while sophomore Chloe Whittaker (Biddeford, Maine) had a career-high 16 and freshman Macie Ahmer (Lake Villa, Ill./Grayslake North) recorded 11.
• Ahmer led all players with 27 assists while Squier had 25.

 
Game 2 vs Maritime College
 
The Records:
Southern Maine: 3-11
Maritime: 4-9
 
Series History:
This was the first meeting between the two programs.
 
How It Happened:

• The Privateers won the opening set 25-22 thanks to an early 7-0 run. The Huskies later had a 5-0 run to cut the score to 21-20 but the Privateers held on to win the set.
• Southern Maine evened the score at 1-1 with a 25-20 win in the second set. A 6-0 run allowed the Huskies to take a 17-13 lead that they never gave up. The final three points of the run came from back-to-back-to-back aces by freshman Ella Koehler (Pickerington, Ohio/Fairfield Christian Academy).
• The Huskies went ahead 2-1 with a dominant 25-10 win in the third set. The Huskies had nine kills, five aces and made just three attack errors in the set. Sophomore Darrien Pugsley (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) and freshman Casey Murillo (League City, Texas/Clear Falls) each had three kills in the set. The Huskies closed out the set on a 7-0 run.
• The Privateers pulled away late in the fourth set to force a tiebreaker by taking the set 25-21.
• Maritime won the fifth set 15-8 to take the match 3-2 largely due to a 7-0 run. The Privateers hit .313 in the final set.

 
Inside The Stats:

• The Huskies doubled the Privateers in service aces at 18-9 thanks to six from Koehler. Johnson added three while Murillo, Whittaker and senior Madison Zimmer (Regina, Saskatchewan/Dr. Martin LeBoldus Catholic) each had two.
• Johnson tied with Karelys Rolon for the most kills in the match with 11. Soraya Hall had 10 for Maritime.
• Rolon led all players in digs with 24 followed by Victoria Cordero with 18. Johnson and Whittaker led Southern Maine with 14 while Koehler had 13.
• Ashley Pavarini and Mikaela Thiel each had 19 assists for the Privateers. Ahmer led the Huskies with 18.
• Sophomore Anyelis Hernandez (Lawrence, Mass.) had a career-high 12 assists and added four kills and an ace.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies will host Saint Joseph's College at 7:00 pm on Tuesday night.