HARTFORD, Conn. – The Trinity College Volleyball team snapped an eight-match losing streak to visiting Bowdoin College, claiming a 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18) victory over the Polar Bears in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tilt at Oosting Gymnasium Friday night. With the win, the Bantams improve to 11-5 overall and 4-3 in the NESCAC, while Bowdoin falls to 3-5 in conference and 8-6 on the season. The victory was the Bantams first win over the Polar Bears since the 2014 season.

Trinity lead wire-to-wire in the opening set as senior Lola Craig (Los Angeles, Calif.) opened the scoring with a kill, and then junior Ava Boloyan (American Canyon, Calif.) notched a pair of kills to build a 6-3 lead for the Bantams. Bowdoin closed the gap to one point, but a 6-2 run by Trinity regained a 12-7 edge. Senior Margaret McCarthy (San Diego, Calif.) and sophomore Ellie Gordon (Los Angeles, Calif.) tallied kills to push the Bantams to an 18-14 lead. Junior Bella Caffuzzi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) delivered to keep momentum following a Bowdoin timeout, and then Eva Lekovic added a pair of late kills to lock up the 25-23 win.

After falling to the Polar Bears, 25-23, in the second set, the Bantams rallied and raced to a 4-1 lead to open the third set. Bowdoin came back and the sides traded the lead until the Polar Bears capitalized on Bantam errors to gain a 13-10 lead, but Trinity would take advantage of Bowdoin miscues to even the match at 14-14. The lead changed hands nine times over the next 16 points of action and with Bowdoin holding a 22-21 lead, the Bantams took win behind four straight errors from the Polar Bears to take the 25-22 win.

In the final set, Trinity was in an early 6-3 hole, but a 7-1 run, featuring a kill and a block from McCarthy, regained a 10-7 lead for the Bantams. Bowdoin trimmed the deficit to 11-10, but took control with a 6-1 run, powered by a kill and block from Lekovic and Craig and two blocks from Caffuzzi, to hold a 17-11 advantage. McCarthy rattled off three straight kills, and then Gordon added another kill to give Trinity a 22-15 lead. Caffuzzi and Craig delivered the final points for the Bantams to secure the 3-1 victory.

"It was a total team effort, for sure," said Trinity Head Coach Jen Bowman. "Bowdoin is a very good team, but we came out and played really well. Every time [Bowdoin] went on a run, we answered, and I'm super proud of that response. We stayed composed, even after losing a set, and I attribute that to our senior leaders, who had to stay on the court and battle when we ran low on subs, and they answered the call. [Connecticut College] is a strong team and they play a different style than Bowdoin. I told the team they can enjoy this win tonight, be we have to come back out ready to play a tough team tomorrow."

Craig paced the Bantams attack with a double-double of a team-high 10 kills and 12 digs. Caffuzzi delivered a career-high seven blocks with nine kills, while McCarthy added eight kills and five digs. Lekovic recorded seven kills with six blocks. Boloyan and Gordon had five kills with four blocks and three blocks, respectively. Sophomore Caroline Howell (Houston, Texas) registered a double-double, dishing out 22 assists with 11 digs, while first-year Scarlett Jago (Allentown, Pa.) grabbed a match-high 24 digs.

Bowdoin had three attackers total double-digits in kills, led by a match-high 16 kills from first-year Skye LaMendola (Farmers Branch, Texas). First-year Haley Campau (Louisville, Ky.) chipped in 15 kills, while sophomore Mina Mittler (Foster City, Calif.) had 11 kills. Graduate setter Ella Haugen (Edina, Minn.) posted a match-high 45 assists with 12 digs.

The Bantams will return to the court when they host Connecticut College in NESCAC action Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Bowdoin visits Wesleyan for a NESCAC match Saturday at 2:00 p.m.