HARTFORD, Conn. - The Trinity College Bantams dropped a 3-1 decision against the Montclair State University Red Hawks in volleyball action this evening at Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity falls to 7-11 overall and the Red Hawks improve to 13-11.  Montclair won the first two sets, 25-17, and, 25-20, but Trinity took the third, 25-23.  The Red Hawks clinched the match with a 25-15 victory in the fourth set.  Junior co-captain Lola Craig (Los Angeles, Calif.) paced Trinity offensively with 12 kills.  The match was also a Dig Pink event to support the fight against breast cancer.  The Bantam squad wore pink uniforms.

With the opening match tied at 13-13, Montclair State used a 6-1 run to pull ahead in the first set.  Sophomore RS Eva Lekovic (San Marino, Calif.) recorded all three Trinity kills after the 13-13 tie but the Red Hawks secured a 1-0 lead.  Trinity junior OH Margaret McCarthy (San Diego, Calif.) made a kill in the second set to tie the match, 19-19, but the Red Hawks closed the match with a 6-1 run.  McCarthy added another set-tying kill in the third frame to cap off a 5-0 Bantam run and the score, 20-20.  Delaney St. Pierre tied the match at 23-all with a kill for the Red Hawks but McCarthy added yet another kill and Bantam sophomore Emma Shorten (Redding, Conn.) ended the set with an ace.  A Shorten kill tied the fourth set at 3-3 but Montclair rattled off five points in a row and maintained control from that point on.

Lekovic had eight kills and three blocks, while sophomore Isabella Caffuzzi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added seven kills, and sophomore Julia Torre (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) totaled 19 digs for the Bantams.  Rookie S Caroline Howell (Houston, Texas) added 10 assists and three aces and sophomore Grace Sullivan collected 14 assists and 11 digs for Trinity.  Leah Higgins had a match-high 15 kills and 12 digs, and St. Pierre notched 36 assists for Montclair State.  The Red Hawks earned 20 points on service aces.  The Bantams will visit Western Connecticut in their next match on Saturday at 1 p.m.