NEW LONDON, Conn. –

Coming into the 3:45 match vs CGA, Conn College had only dropped three sets on the entire season, with a 6-0 record. After two sets, it appeared the Camels would be making the short trip home at 7-0 without having dropped a set on the day. That is when the Bears fortunes turned around and Coast Guard was able to procure an improbable comeback to defeat Conn College 3-2, handing the Camels(6-1) their first loss of the season.

Earlier on the day, Coast Guard handily defeated Worcester State in three sets(25-16, 25-12, 25-16). The Lancers were never able to threaten and the Bears cruised to victory.

With the absence of exceptional junior middle Allie Wildsmith(Bainbridge Island, WA) CGA needed someone to step up. Sophomore middle Eloise Shirley(Burke, VA) was the woman for the job. She led all Bears players with 10 kills and four blocks in match one, while also adding an ace and three digs. The 10 kills for Shirley breaks her previous personal best. Just behind Shirley in kills was fellow sophomore hitter Julia Gallinger(Garrison, NY) who had eight. 

Shirley, Garrison, and the other CGA hitters were fed by the steady hands of sophomore setters Mackenzie Murnane(Castle Hayne, NC) and Sophia Rosenberg(Lebanon, PA) who combined for 31 assists in the three sets.

In set three, the Bears found help that would prove necessary in their later match from the right arm of freshman hitter Amelia Matson(Stafford, VA). Matson, who had not yet appeared in game action this season, came onto the court and had back to back digs late in the third set. 

With the loss, the Worcester College Lancers fall to 2-7. They will next face Rhode Island College at home on Thursday September 19 at 7:00 PM. 

The second match of the day would not go as smoothly for Coast Guard. Conn dominated the Bears 25-10 in set one and won 25-18 in set two. CGA beat themselves in the first two sets, with 12 errors in the first and 15 in the second set. It would all turn around however, once the third set started. 

In the third set, the teams went back and forth, with no one leading more than three. That finally changed when Eloise Shirley took the game into her hands. With a 17-16 lead, Shirley had a kill to take the lead by two and then took the ball to serve and earned her second point in a row with an ace. The aforementioned freshman, Amelia Matson then got a kill of her own to give the Bears some wiggle room at 20-16. After surrendering the next point, CGA again turned to Matson, who got her second kill in three points to take a 21-17 lead. They would end up winning the set 25-17 on a booming kill from sophomore middle Samantha Ventimiglia(Key West, FL). 

In the 4th set, the Bears were dominant. They capitalized on 12 errors just as the Camels did to them early in the match and their high flying attack highlighted by Eloise Shirley, Shannon Shaw(Torrance, CA), and Karlee Lingle(Schertz, TX) was too much to handle. 

The fifth set swung back and forth early on with five lead changes before the teams switched sides at 8-7 with Coast Guard leading after an Amelia Matson kill. They would win the next two as well on a Conn error and Eloise Shirley's second ace of the day. Conn would fight back to the score of 11-9 after a service error from CGA appeared to give the Camels some momentum but Samantha Ventimiglia made sure they could not crawl back into the match. She had back to back kills and a block assist(with Shannon Shaw) on three consecutive points to bring the Bears to match point. After Conn scored once more, Ventimiglia would deliver the comeback completing kill and dagger to the Camels. 

The loss was Conn College's first of the season(6-1). They will next play on the road at St. Joseph on Tuesday September 17th at 7:00 PM.

The Bears comeback was possible thanks to outstanding defensive play. Eloise Shirley had a career high seven blocks with Lingle and Ventimiglia each adding four. But leading the way for the Bears was the anchor of their defense, Kaela France(Calhan, CO). The senior captain and reigning NEWMAC defender of the week had 27 digs in match one vs Worcester State and 37(a season high) vs Conn. While her team was trailing early in the Conn match, France could be seen reassuring her teammates that they needed to stay positive and have more energy. France, who was an energetic force on and off the court, played in all eight sets on the day without recording a single reception error. 

Ventimiglia led the Bears in attack percentage(.545) with six kills. Eloise Shirley again paced the Bears in kills, tying her career best of 10 that she set earlier in the day. Amelia Matson too had 10 kills with Carlee Lingle just behind with eight. Setters Mackenzie Murnane and Sophia Rosenberg had 19 and 22 assists respectively with Murnane's 19 setting a new personal best.

The 7-3 Bears next match will again be at home on Tuesday September 17th vs the Trinity College Bantams at 6:00 PM.