NEW LONDON, Conn.--

After five consecutive 3-0 wins, the Bears had a real test tonight in a tight battle with Roger Williams in which Coast Guard came out on top 3-1(25-21, 25-21, 17-25, 25-23) to win their sixth straight. 

For Roger Williams, the loss drops them to 3-7 on the year. They will face another NEWMAC opponent Saturday at 1:00 PM when they host Wellesley College. 

The Hawks came out flying in set one, opening up an early 5-1 lead but after an Abby Schweitzer(Emmaus, PA) kill, Laila Baameur(Bakersfield, CA) capped off a four point service run with consecutive aces to give the Bears their first lead of the night. Despite RWU tying the game once more and staying close, Coast Guard was able to hold onto set one by a score of 25-21. 

Set two was a roller coaster from start to finish. The Bears and Hawks were tied at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5, 7-7, 8-8, 11-11, and 12-12. At 13-12, after an RWU service error, the Bears finally took control of the set and would not let go. They opened up their biggest lead in the set at 18-13 after kills from the six foot duo of Corey Lemmer(San Francisco, CA) and Eloise Shirley(Rock Island, IL) and an ace from Sam Ventimiglia(Key West, FL). Late in the set, Roger Williams surged for three straight points to cut the CGA lead to just two at 23-21, but kills from Sam Ventimiglia and Amelia Matson(Mililani, HI) gave Coast Guard a commanding 2-0 match lead. 

In the third, Coast Guard buried themselves into a 9-1 hole and were unable to dig themselves out. It was not without fight from the Bears, who cut the Hawk lead down to four on three occasions but the early deficit and 13 CGA errors was too much to overcome in a 17-25 set loss. For Coast Guard, it was their first set loss since August 30th.

The fourth set was the marquee event of the evening. The set saw seven lead changes, nine ties, and a late comeback from the Bears. Neither team could find any breathing room, Coast Guard's largest lead was two and RWU's was three. Late in the set, the Hawks had one of their three point leads at 20-17. It was crunch time for the Bears and Dylan Elferdink(Hernando Beach, FL) delivered. Elferdink, who came off the bench midway through the set, recorded her third kill to make the score 20-18 and send the momentum in the direction of CGA with an RWU attack error on the next play making the score 20-19.

At 20-19, the point of the match ensued. After Courtney Shire(Cape May, NJ) served, the Bears appeared to be out of the point before it even got going when a Roger Williams attack seemed destined for the floor. Shire laid out to save the attempt, Laila Baameur dove on top of Shire to keep the ball alive, and Amelia Matson sent a one handed, no look prayer from well outside of the court miraculously over the net. With Matson's ball barely grazing over, Roger Williams took that opportunity to send the ball right back at the Bears but Baameur, who was barely back on her feet after her diving save, found herself in the perfect spot for the dig. On the Hawks next two attacks, they again seemed destined yet again to score but diving digs by Baameur and Matson kept the Bears alive before a RWU attack error finally ended the point and sent Baameur to her knees in celebration. It was the point of the match, and inevitably will be one of the points of the season for the Bears, who seemingly spent more time on the ground than they did on their feet.

The 20-20 tie was the first since 12-12 and the Bears, despite still catching their breath, would use their momentum to score four of the next six points to force match point. At 24-23, the Bears made sure there would be no extra points when Amelia Matson sent her 7th kill of the set to the floor for a Bears win. Matson led the squad in kills with 16. Abby Schweitzer was the other Bear in double figures at 11 with Sarah Somer(Cary, NC) and Sam Ventimiglia just behind with nine each. 

After 22 digs on Tuesday, Laila Baameur followed that up with a career high 27 tonight while also adding two more aces. Ava Ahokovi(Honolulu, HI) and Sophia Rosenberg(Hershey, PA) were busy all evening for the Bears, combining for 54 assists and seven digs.

Coast Guard(7-2) will be searching for their seventh consecutive victory on the road Saturday at 1:00 PM vs the University of Hartford.