NEW LONDON, Conn. --

With her 4th dig of the evening, senior libero Kaela France(Calhan, CO) became the Coast Guard Academy all-time digs leader with 1776. That mark passes 2014 graduate Sam Marmolejo who previously set the school record with 1775. This would not be the end of the record breaking evening for France, who also broke the CGA record for most digs in a single season. Her 8th dig of the night and 575th of the year broke the single season digs record she set herself last year with 574. 

"Thankyou to my entire team and my coaching staff" said France on her momentous achievement.  "I've faced a lot of adversity, having hip surgery, but I've worked really hard every day and I couldn't have done it without my team" 

Coach Mark Thomas shared the following thoughts on Kaela's record breaking evening "Kaela France's impact on our program goes beyond her record-breaking digs and defensive dominance. As a four-year starter and conference defensive player of the year, Kaela's set a standard for excellence, work ethic, and passion on and off the court. Her dedication and leadership have left an impressive mark, inspiring her teammates and paving the way for future success at Coast Guard volleyball."

Her historic season has put Kaela on the national radar with the Calhan, Colorado native currently ranking 2nd in the country in both digs(1,795) and digs per set(6.81). At the conference level, France is first in digs and digs per set while also ranking 9th in service aces with 33.

In the first set, the Bears fell down immediately 7-0. After an early coach Thomas timeout, CGA stormed back. With their backs against the wall they kept chipping away, finally tying the score at 16-16. Shortly thereafter, the Bears would take their first lead at 21-20 and would go on to win the nail biting first set 25-21. 

CGA would use that momentum from the first set and cruise to victory in the 2nd. After an Amelia Matson(Stafford, VA) kill to start the set, the Bears would hold the lead the entire time en route to a 25-15 victory. The 3rd set appeared to be heading in a similar direction with Coast Guard jumping out to an early 11-2 lead but the Lyons of Mount Holyoke showed their fight and much like the Bears in set one, crawled back into the set. At 22-17 the Lyons scored four consecutive points to cut the CGA lead to just one before finally making an error to bring the Bears lead back to two. After the Lyons scored another point, the Bears were able to close out a 25-22 set victory with an Abigail Schweitzer(Emmaus, PA) kill and a match winning ace from Laila Baameur(Bakersfield, CA). 

The loss tonight drops the Lyons of Mount Holyoke to 11-10 (2-7 NEWMAC). They will host Keene State Thursday October 31st at 7:00 PM. 

Leading the attack for the Bears this evening was senior Shannon Shaw(Torrance, CA) with 11 kills. Shaw has recorded double digit kills in seven of the Bears last eight matches. Trailing shortly behind Shaw was sophomore middle Eloise Shirley(Burke, VA) who had six kills, five of which came in clutch 3rd set moments. Shirley also led the Bears with four blocks. Sarah Somer(Cary, NC) and Amelia Matson each also added five kills. With 30 assists, Sophia Rosenberg(Lebanon, PA) has now recorded 30+ assists in 12 consecutive matches. 

After recording her record breaking digs early on, Kaela France would finish the day with 23. Fellow defender Laila Baameur was second on the Bears with 11.

The victory for Coast Guard improves the Bears to 17-7(6-3 NEWMAC). They will get a week off with their next match on the road vs Smith on Tuesday November 5th at 7:00 PM.