HARTFORD, Conn. – An electrifying five-set match had fans on their feet inside Oosting Gymnasium Friday night, as the Trinity College volleyball team picked up its first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory over Colby College, 25-17, 22-25, 19-25, 25-23,15-13 . The Bantams improve to 8-10 overall (1-6 NESCAC) while the Mules slide to 7-7 (2-6 NESCAC). Trinity will play a double-header tomorrow, hosting Bates College at 11 a.m. and Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 3 p.m.

The Bantams jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first set of the night as senior Hareena Johnson tallied a kill and pair of services aces in the run. A kill from junior Molly Bernstein followed by a shared block from senior Ally Conde and sophomore Sydney Cross-Watts put the finishing touches on a 25-17 set victory. Trinity carried the momentum into the start of set two with an initial 4-0 lead but would ultimately fall to Colby 25-22 in a back and forth battle. Set three was the Mules' best set of the night, closing out the frame with a 6-1 run for the match's largest margin of victory at six.

Down two sets to one, the Bantams were in an early hole to start set four as Colby sparked a 5-0 run out of the gates. Two-straight kills from first-year Eva Lekovic and a block assisted by Bernstein gave Trinity the 12-11 lead. Colby would tie the game up at 20 with an ace from Hannah Wyllie but the Blue and Gold managed to hang on and force a fifth set with a 25-23 win. In the deciding set, sophomore Lola Craig put the exclamation point on the night with back-to-back kills for the matches final two points and Trinity's first conference win of 2021. 

Lekovic, Craig and Bernstein all registered double-digit kills with 15, 14 and 11, respectively. Senior Locke Luhnow recorded 25 assists while rookie Grace Sullivan posted a career high 25 helpers and also led the Bantams with three aces. Trinity collected 10 total blocks with Bernstein leading the charge with six block assists. Senior Natalia Ortiz led the Bantams with 14 digs while first-year Julia Torre racked up a career-high 13 digs on the night.