Games #20 & 21 vs Central Connecticut State University (NEC)
Info: Friday, Oct. 24 / Saturday, Oct. 25
Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court | 6:00 P.M. / 1:00 P.M.
Watch: NEC Front Row (Friday) / NEC Front Row (Saturday)
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College volleyball team will host NEC rival Central Connecticut State  in two matches at Ted Grant Court this coming Friday, Oct. 24 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 25 at 1:00 p.m.

Matchup History:
Le Moyne and Central Connecticut State are currently tied 2-2 in their program histories dating back to 2023, the Dolphins' first season as members of the NEC. In a split series with one match at home and one one the road in '23, Le Moyne dropped both to the Blue Devils before sweeping them through a pair of matches in New Britain, Conn. last season. 

Over their two matches last season, current sophomore outside hitter Jordyn Hamlin (Manahawkin, N.J. / Southern Regional) led the 'Phins' offense with 18 kills while  junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School) added another 16 for Le Moyne. Senior setter/DS Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) and sophomore setter Skylar Jehlen (Rochester, N.Y. / Churchville Chili) led the squad with 39 and 29 assists, respectively, while sophomore outside hitter Denali Louden (Murrieta, C.A. / Murrieta Mesa) contributed a team-best nine service aces to go along with her 23.5 points over the two matches.

On defense, Louden also led with 27 digs along with sophomore libero/DS Brooke Menke (St. Louis, M.O. / Visitation Academy) who added 20, as well. Louden and Lupton each tallied three block assists with the latter registering one block solo to the stat sheet. 

Dolphins' Season:
Le Moyne returns home for the weekend set with a 3-16 record overall while going 2-5 in conference play so far this season.

Le Moyne opened the year in the Salt City Classic from Aug. 29-31 where they suffered losses at the hands of both Rider (1-3) and Syracuse (0-3) while downing Niagara (3-2) in their lone victory of the season this far. The team then traveled to Delaware to take part in a three-match set at the Blue Hen Invitational from Sept. 6-7. Le Moyne fell in their three matchups to Hampton (2-3), Virginia Tech (0-3), and host Delaware (0-3) before traveling to Maryland for the Navy invitational on Sept. 12-13. 

The Dolphins dropped their first match to Gardner-Webb (0-3) before rounding out the weekend with a loss at the hands of Navy in similar three-set fashion. The squad then returned home for a mid-week home match with Canisius on Sept. 17 where they fell in three sets before dropping both legs of the Syracuse Invitational against St. John's (0-3) and Siena (0-3) from Sept. 19-20. The Dolphins then dropped their non-conference finale on the road against Holy Cross, 3-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Le Moyne dropped the opening series of their conference slate against LIU at home in three sets from Oct. 3-4 before dropping a midweek matchup on the road against FDU (3-0) on Oct. 8. The squad then swept their season series against Chicago State (3-1and 3-0) at home for their first NEC wins of 2025 on Oct. 10-11 before falling in a pair of five-set matches against Stonehill this past weekend.  

Lupton leads Le Moyne with 188.5 points and 168 kills while adding another 40.0 blocks through 19 matches this year, as well. Sophomore outside hitter Nina Salas (Austin, T.X. / McNeil) sits just behind with 139.5 points and 124 kills for the Dolphins. Gerken has put together a team-best 378 assists with Menke leading the team with 23 service aces. 

Defensively, Menke also leads the Dolphins with 207 digs to go along with a .903 reception percentage through 16 matches. Freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) sits atop the standings with 56.0 blocks while senior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey/Ugur Okullari) has added another 38.0 blocks, as well.

A Look at the Blue Devils:
Central Connecticut State has earned a 4-15 overall record with a 3-4 record in NEC contests this season, Head Coach Alyssa Broccoli's second with the program. 

The Blue Devils opened the season 1-11 through non-conference play with their lone victory coming amid the Friar Classic in Providence, R.I. against Holy Cross (3-0) on Sept. 13. 

The team opened NEC play with a pair of losses at home against Saint Francis (0-3, 2-3) on Sept. 26 and 27 before winning three straight to kick off October. CCSU traveled to Chicago State and swept the Cougars (3-1 and 3-2) from Oct. 3-4 before downing Stonehill in five sets on the road on Oct. 8. Most recently, the Blue Devils hosted LIU and fell, 0-3, in both matches against the Sharks this past weekend. 

On offense, sophomore opposite hitter Olivia Keckler leads with 256.0 points and 228 kills while senior outside hitter Weronika Poczynek sits second with 238.0 points and 226 kills through 19 matches played. Junior setter Anja Milsevic has tallied a team-high 631 assists as sophomore libero Annabelle Denommé has rounded out the offense with 27 service aces this season.

On the defensive end, Denommé also leads with 200 digs on the year while junior middle blocker Breanna Ginley leads in both block solos (nine) and block assists (47) for CCSU this season. 

What's Next:
The Dolphins will host FDU in their second midweek meeting of the season next Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 6:00 p.m.