Hamilton College's
Melissa Morelli '24 recorded a career-high 48 assists in the Continentals' 3-2 NESCAC loss to the Connecticut College Camels on Friday night inside Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House.
The Continentals (6-7, 2-5 NESCAC) hammered 65 kills, had 56 assists and recorded 10 aces but also had 23 attack errors. The Camels (5-8, 2-6) had 62 kills, 54 assists, 12 aces, eight blocks and just 11 attack errors.
The set scores were 22-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-18 and 15-13.
Hamilton's
Kate Carman '24 had a team-high 20 kills and
Deirdre Corrigan '23 added a season-best 16 kills and served two aces.
Drew Stimson '25 chipped in a season-high 11 kills and
Cece Nourie '25 was credited with 15 digs. Morelli recorded 13 digs and two aces and
Hanna Cillo '24 had nine digs and two aces.
Conn. College took an 8-3 lead in the first set but Hamilton came back and tied it twice and took a three-point edge at 19-16. The score was tied three more times before the Continentals out-scored the Camels 4-1, including two kills by Carman that closed out the set.
Connecticut College started the second set with four straight points and went on a seven-point run for a 23-8 cushion. Hamilton was able to score four more points in the set but it wasn't enough.
The Camels took an early lead in the third set before Hamilton tied it and then went on a six-point spree for a 9-4 advantage. Connecticut College came back to tie the score at 18-18 and 21-21, but the Continentals out-scored the Camels 4-1 and Carman closed out the set again with a kill.
Hamilton took a comfortable 14-7 lead in the fourth set before the Camels out-scored the Continentals 11-2 for an 18-16 edge. Hamilton was still within two points at 20-18 when Conn. College closed out the set with a 5-0 run.
The fifth set was tied six times and neither team led by more than three points. The Continentals still had a great chance to take the match when they led 11-8 after a Camels' attack error. Conn. College ran off seven of the next nine points and stole the important conference victory. The Camels started the clinching run with two blocks.
Hamilton is back home on Saturday, Oct. 16 to host NESCAC foe Wesleyan University at 11 a.m. and then St. Lawrence University at 3 p.m. for a non-conference match.
