Hartford, Conn. - The Trinity College Bantams rallied back from down, 2-1, taking the fifth set by a score of 19-17 to come away with a thrilling, 3-2 victory over the Connecticut College Camels on Saturday afternoon in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) volleyball action in Oosting Gymnasium in Hartford. Trinity improves to 8-4 overall and picks up its first NESCAC win to move to 1-3. The Camels fall to 4-9 on the year and 1-4 in league play. 

Trinity dominated the first set, hitting .500 as a team, led by junior Wyllie Boughton (Andover, Mass.) and senior co-captain Hanna Engstrom (Hopkinton, Mass.) who both had five kills out of the team's 17. Sophomore setter Jessica Yang (Pacific Palisade, Cali.) tallied 16 assists and eight digs in the first set as the Bantams took it by a score of 25-11.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair, however the Camels ran away with it at the end, 25-21. Emma Hewlin (Los Gatos, Calif.) led the way in the second frame with five kills for the Camels while Avery Light (Sudbury, Mass.) recorded two blocks. Both sides traded points before Connecticut College jumped out to a 19-15 lead after a Bantam attack error. Trinity came right back to cut the deficit to 22-20, but the visitors eventually took the set thanks to consecutive kills by Hewlin.

The third set was won by the Camels, 25-19. The score was tied at 16-16, but Connecticut College finished the set on a 9-3 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Camels finished the set with a .297 hitting percentage, their highest set total of the day, while the Bantams seven attack errors.

Set four provided plenty of entertainment thanks to a gutsy, 25-22, victory by the Bantams which forced the deciding fifth set. Connecticut College exploded out of the gates in the fourth set, taking a commanding, 13-4 lead. Trinity showed its resiliency, however, stringing together nine-straight points, highlighted by back-to-back points from rookie Hareena Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif.), to tie things at 13-13. Connecticut College responded with a quick, 4-0, run of its own though to reclaim the lead at 17-13. A Trinity attack error gave the Camels a 20-18 advantage, but six-straight points, three of which came on serves by senior co-captain Rachel Underwood (Danville, Calif.), gave Trinity a 24-21 lead and all the momentum it needed to come up with the clutch set victory, won on a kill by Johnson.

In the fifth and final set, Trinity carried the momentum they had coming off its big fourth set win. The Bantams opened up a 9-3 lead which looked to be all for the Camels, however the visitors chipped away and eventually tied it at 11-11. A Trinity attack error followed by an ace from Katie Howley (Scituate, Mass.) put Connecticut College up 13-11 before the Bantams burned a timeout. Out of the break, Trinity scored three-straight points to reclaim the lead, ultimately winning the match on kills from rookie Ally Conde (Danielson, Conn.) and Boughton.

Boughton led all players with 14 kills while Underwood and junior Colette Scheffers (Flossmoor, Ill.) also finished in double-digits with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Yang set a new season-high with 49 assists to go along with a career-high 32 digs, while Underwood added four aces on the afternoon as well. The Camels were led by Hewlin and Light, who combined for 25 of the team's 56 kills. Grace McGee (Portland, Ore.) led all players with 51 assists while Howley led the squad with 25 digs.

Trinity returns to action next Friday when it travels to Maine to face off against Bowdoin at 7 p.m.