NEW LONDON, Conn. - An early-season classic of a volleyball game took place in Alumni Gym on Tuesday night as Coast Guard women's volleyball fell to Trinity (Conn.) in a back-and-forth five-set clash.

The Bears moved to 7-4 on the season after the loss, while the Bantams remain undefeated at 8-0. The navy-and-yellow team will head to Williamstown, Mass. for their next match against Williams College. The Ephs are off to a 5-2 start and the game will serve as the conference opener for both NESCAC schools.

Coast Guard held a 17-10 lead midway through the first set before the visitors stormed back to make it 23-20. The Bears got it to set point after a kill by Carlee Lingle (Schertz, Tex.), with Kaela France (Calhan, Colo.) tabbed for the assist, but Trinity converted three straight kills in response to make it a one-point game. Coast Guard would end up forcing an attack error to take the set, 25-23.

The second set saw Trinity take a 9-5 lead early on, but a pair of attack errors by the Bantams and a pair of kills off the hands of Shannon Shaw (Torrance, Calif.) and Allie Wildsmith (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) evened the score. The game eventually went to a 23-21 advantage for Coast Guard before the Bantams locked in, converting three kills and benefiting from an attack error on the Bears' part to take even the match at one.

Trinity kept the ball rolling in the third set, opening by getting out to a 6-2 lead. Coast Guard eventually got the score locked up at 12 as the remainder of the set saw the visiting team repeatedly get out to another small lead before the Bears tied it again. The Bantams would eventually hold a 23-22 lead before a pair of kills by Wildsmith and an ace by Shaw claimed the set at 25-23 for the hosts.

Set four saw the score tied at 15 partway through before more back-and-forth gave Trinity set point and the opportunity to prolong the game at 24-20. An attack error by the Bantams gave the Bears a glimmer of hope, but the visitors converted a kill on the very next point to send the game into the fifth set.

Neither team would relented in the first half of set five. The Bears and the Bantams were unable to get out to a lead greater than two. Coast Guard initiated the side swap by going up 8-7 on a Trinity attack error. The teams played to a 10-point tie before the visitors converted on three kills to go up 13-10, but the Bears evened it again after an attack error, an ace by France, and a kill by Amelia Matson (Stafford, Va.). Trinity would soon get the match point opportunity, but Coast Guard refused to back down and reversed the situation with kills by Eloise Shirley (Burke, Va.) and Sophia Rosenburg (Lebanon, Pa.).

The Bantams turned the tables again with a pair of kills of their own, but the Bears tied it again at 17 apiece after another kill by Matson. Trinity would make it match point again after another kill, and then they'd claim victory after an ace.

Trinity converted 68 kills on 205 attempts with 30 errors for a .185% attack rate, while Coast Guard converted 57 kills on 213 attempts with 28 errors for a .136% attack rate. The Bears essentially had a three-headed monster on offense in the game with Wildsmith, Shaw, and Matson all going for over 15 points. Wildsmith has 17.5 points on 14 kills, a block, 3 block assists, and an ace; Shaw had 15.5 via 11 kills, two aces, and the same blocking results as Wildsmith; and Matson had 15 on 15 kills.

Coast Guard made 97 digs in the match, almost a third of which were credited to France. She totaled 32 digs, which was her second-highest total this season. France's performance tonight brought her to 1474 career digs, moving her up to third on Coast Guard's all-time digs leaderboard.

Volleyball is back-in-action again on Thursday night, playing just a stone's throw from home at nearby Mitchell College. The Pilgrims are 3-4 this season with their last result being a 3-2 loss to Rivier.