HANOVER, N.H. — The Niagara Purple Eagles opened action at the Dartmouth Invitational with two five-set defeats on Friday.
Rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the first match, Niagara was edged in five sets by Hartford. The comeback started in the third set when NU built a commanding 16-3 led on its way to winning the set 25-21. Niagara edged Hartford, 26-24, in the fourth to setup the deciding fifth set. The Purple Eagles led 5-2 to start the fifth set, but trailed 10-9 after 19 points. The Hawks scored the final five points to win the match.
Niagara’s second match saw them build a 2-0 set lead before succumbing in five sets. Niagara ousted CCSU, 27-25, in the opening set and dominated the second set with a 25-12 score behind a match-best .375 hitting percentage. However, CCSU won the next two sets to force the tie-breaking set. The Blue Devils opened the fifth set on a 7-0 run with NU cutting the lead to 9-6 before falling 15-9.
NU Volleyball Head Coach Vilis Ozols said, “Our girls played very tough. There were a number of momentum shifts and I thought we own the match early and then Central Connecticut came on strong at the end. A few minor changes in some of our key skill sets and we have the result that we hope for. We’ll just keep moving forward.”
The Purple Eagles wrap up play at the Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday against Dartmouth at Noon and Army at 3:30 p.m.
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