HARTFORD, Conn. – The Trinity College volleyball squad swept visiting Regis College and Montclair State University during a tri-match at Oosting Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. The Bantams improved to 6-4 on the season.
 
Match 1: Trinity 3, Regis 1 (25-15, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20)
The Bantams grabbed an early 4-0 lead over the Pride behind a pair of service aces from sophomore Caroline Howell (Houston, Texas). Regis worked at the deficit but kills from senior Lola Craig (Los Angeles, Calif.), junior Bella Caffuzzi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore Ellie Gordon (The Villages, Fla.) kept an 8-6 lead for Trinity. The Bantams capitalized on Regis errors during a 6-2 run to pull away, 14-9. The Pride closed the gap to 14-11, but Trinity responded with a 4-1 run to gain an 18-12 advantage. Errors again plagued the Pride over the final points, and then a pair of blocks from junior Ava Boloyan (American Canyon, Calif.) secured the 25-15 win.

Caffuzzi gave the Bantams the 6-3 lead to start the second set with a trio of kills. Regis rallied to even the match at 9-9, but Trinity jumped ahead with a 6-2 run, featuring a kill and a block from Caffuzzi and junior Eva Lekovic (San Marino, Calif.) to harness a 15-11 lead. The Pride close the gap to two points, 15-13, but again the Bantams used an 8-2 run to pull away for good. Regis rattled off a late 7-1 run, but a kill from Boloyan sealed the 25-22 win.

Trinity held a 4-0 lead in the third set, but Regis orchestrated a 6-0 run, featuring two kills and a block from graduate Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.), to put the Pride up. Trinity regained a 9-6 advantage behind kills from Craig and Boloyan, but back-to-back aces from Pride senior Ahnasia McKinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) evened the score at 11-11. The Pride took control for the next few minutes, powering off an 8-2 run, paced by two kills from first-year Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) and senior Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.), to grab a 19-14 lead. The Bantams responded with a 7-2 run, featuring kills from Boloyan, Craig and senior Margaret McCarthy (San Diego, Calif.) to even the scoreboard at 21-21. The Pride netted three straight points to sit at the doorstep of victory, and then a kill from Montigny handed the Pride a 25-23 win.

In the fourth set, the Bantams jumped to a 7-1 lead behind three kills from Lekovic. A pair of kills from Gordon helped keep the Pride at bay, 10-6. Regis used a 6-2 run to knot the match at 12-12, and then the sides traded points until a 3-0 run gave Regis an 18-16 lead. Craig served up a pair of aces to regain a 19-18 lead for Trinity. McCarthy, Caffuzzi and Gordon smashed late kills for the Bantams, and then a service aces from Howell bookended the 25-20, and 3-1 match victory for Trinity.

Lekovic paced the Bantams attack with a team-high 10 kills, while Caffuzzi and McCarthy added seven kills apiece. Howell logged another double-double, dishing out a team-high 18 assists with 10 digs. The Bantams posted a season-high 16 blocks during the match, including five from Boloyan, four from Caffuzzi and three from Gordon.
 
Match #2: Trinity 3, Montclair State 0 (25- 12, 25-18, 25-17)
The Bantams took advantage of Montclair errors to build a 6-0 lead in the opening set. Trinity maintained control with a pair of kills from Lekovic and Craig en route to a 16-4 advantage. Gordon sandwiched a pair of kills around an ace from Boloyan, and then Boloyan, Gordon and first-year Bella Nash (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) notched kills down the stretch for the 25-12 win.

Montclair State used a pair of kills from Rachel Curran to take a 6-3 lead in the second set, but Trinity regained control with an 8-3 run, featuring two kills from Boloyan, Gordon and McCarthy, to lead 11-9. Caffuzzi slammed three more kills and Lekovic added two more as the Bantams advanced the lead to 19-14. Craig chipped in two more kills and Caffuzzi delivered a set-sealing solo block to give Trinity the 25-18 win.

First-year Scarlett Jago (Allentown, Pa.) and junior Julia Torre (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) served up aces to help put the Bantams up 7-3 in the third set. Gordon and McCarthy rattled off three more kills each as Trinity pushed the lead to 17-9. Montclair used a 6-1 run to close the gap to 18-15, but the Bantams put the Red Hawks in the rearview with a 7-2 run to wrap up the 25-17 win.

Gordon tallied a match-high nine kills with five blocks and two digs in the win. Lekovic totaled seven kills with three blocks, while Boloyan added six kills, five blocks and two aces. Sullivan doled out a match-high 19 assists, and Howell had 13 assist with three digs. Jago grabbed a match-high 11 digs with two aces.

The Bantams will be back on the court when they host Bates College in NESCAC conference play Friday at 7:00 p.m.