NEW LONDON, Conn. –
In the last home non-conference match of the year, Coast Guard defeated the Hartford Hawks in straight sets (25-9, 25-23, 25-21). The loss for Hartford drops them to 12-10 on the season, they will next host New York University on Friday October 30th at 6:30 PM.
After a commanding victory in set one, the Bears had to claw and fight for sets two and three in a hard-earned sweep. In the second set, the Bears set their first of two major milestones of the day when sophomore setter
Ava Ahokovi (Honolulu, Hawaii) recorded her 1,000th career assist. She is the first Coast Guard player to record 1,000 assists since
Maeve Duffin in 2023. After Ahokovi's achievement, the Bears ensued in a set in which they seldom trailed but could not break free from UHart, with their largest lead being just five. In the end, they took the set 25-23, capping it off fittingly with an Ahokovi assist of
Abby Schweitzer (Emmaus, Pa.) for the kill. She would finish the day the team leader with 19.
The Schweitzer kill to conclude the second was the appetizer to her banner achievement in the third. With her 5th kill of the evening in the final set, Abby reached 500 career kills.
That third set for the Bears was played mostly from behind. Coast Guard chipped away all set and finally took control at 21-21 after six ties. With senior captain
Courtney Shire (Cape May, N.J.) at the service line, the Bears won the final four points to take the set 25-21 and the match 3-0. In those final four points,
Corey Lemmer (San Francisco, Calif.) had two kills before
Ava Ahokovi capped off her banner night with a match-clinching kill.
Corey Lemmer led the Bears on the attack with 11 kills, swinging at a .292 clip. Behind the leader Ahokovi in assists was freshman
Allie Jenkins (Dripping Springs, Tex.) with 10. For the fifth time in six matches,
Courtney Shire had 20 or more digs, reaching exactly 20 tonight.
Julia Gallinger (Garrison, N.Y.) was second on the squad in digs with 10. In blocks, it was the towering freshman tandem of
Asia Fulp (Seaside, Calif.) and
Addison Krajicek (Aviano, Italy) leading the way, combining for eight.
Coast Guard improves to 14-8 with the win. They will travel to #13 MIT on Saturday October 31st for a match originally scheduled for September 26th.
