Hartford Volleyball Falls to Endicott in CNE Tournament First Round

Hartford’s 2026 volleyball season ended on Tuesday night with a four-set loss to Endicott College in the Conference of New England (CNE) Tournament First Round.

The Hawks dropped the match 3-1 with set scores of 25-17, 25-16, 22-25 and 25-15 in Beverly, Mass. Endicott surged ahead early in the opening frame, building a 14-2 lead that eventually stretched to 18-4. Junior Rylee Miller sparked a brief 5-2 run with two kills, but Hartford fell behind 1-0 after dropping the first set 25-17.

The Gulls maintained control in the second set, constructing a 14-6 advantage. Junior Andrea Martir-Perez answered with a kill to trim the deficit to 18-12, though Endicott closed out the frame on a 7-4 run to win 25-16.

Hartford vs Endicott College Womens Volleyball 2026 — USA College Volleyball3

Hartford rebounded in the third set by jumping to a 7-5 lead behind three service aces. Freshman Calla McCombs later pushed the advantage to 17-13 with a kill. Although Endicott battled back to tie the score at 21-21, senior Jordan Murphy delivered two late kills to secure a 25-22 set victory for the Hawks.

The fourth set belonged to the hosts. Miller and Jo. As Endicott College led 7-5 early, the Gulls steadily pulled away to a 17-10 margin. Miller could not halt the momentum as the Gulls clinched the match with a 25-15 scoreline.

McCombs paced the Hartford offense with 10 kills on a .094 hitting percentage while adding seven digs. Murphy contributed four kills and a pair of blocks. Directing the passing game, freshman Amara Rhodes tallied 21 assists, nine digs and two kills, while Martir-Perez matched her with nine digs.

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For Endicott, Ava Grace Dresback posted 11 kills, eight digs and five aces, while Lincoln Abramaitys notched 10 kills, 12 digs and five aces.

“I thought Endicott’s experience in playoff situations showed today,” said head coach Johan Dulfer. “We struggled finding a rhythm on serve receive all night. When you pass worse than your opponent serves and serve worse than they pass, you typically don’t like the outcome of matches.”

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Dulfer said that his squad’s grit still posed a challenge for the opposition.

“It was really good to see that despite our struggles in passing, we found a way to put a lot of pressure on Endicott in the third and portions of the fourth set by sheer determination and hard work,” Dulfer said.

The defeat wraps up the season for the program.

“Tonight’s experience will come back and prove very valuable as we build our program,” Dulfer said. “We end our season with double the wins from last year and our first playoff appearance – the future is bright for sure.”

Hartford finished the 2026 season with an overall record of 14-13 and a 5-5 CNE record.