The Hartford volleyball team concluded its 2026 season on Tuesday night by falling to Endicott College 3-1 in the Conference of New England Tournament First Round, University of Hartford Athletics reported.
Endicott claimed the match with set scores of 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, and 25-15 in Beverly, Massachusetts. The Gulls jumped to an early 14-2 lead in the opening set before Hartford mounted a late response featuring two kills by junior Rylee Miller.
Hartford finished the campaign with a 14-13 overall record and a 5-5 mark in conference play, doubling its win total from the previous season while securing the program’s first playoff appearance. Head coach Johan Dulfer pointed to early struggles with serve receive as a deciding factor in the postseason matchup.
“I thought Endicott’s experience in playoff situations showed today,” Dulfer told University of Hartford Athletics.
“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,” Dulfer said.
Endicott established control early in the second set, building a 14-6 advantage on the way to a 25-16 victory. Junior Andrea Martir-Perez contributed a late kill for Hartford during a brief 7-4 run that narrowed the deficit.
The Hawks responded in the third set by jumping ahead 7-5 behind three service aces. Freshman Calla McCombs later pushed the lead to 17-13 with a kill before Endicott rallied to tie the score at 21-21. Senior Jordan Murphy secured the third set for Hartford with two late kills, sealing the 25-22 win.
The fourth set saw Endicott pull away from a narrow 7-5 margin to build a 17-10 lead. Despite additional kills from Lauren Johnson and Rylee Miller, the Gulls secured the match with a 25-15 decision.
Dulfer said that the team’s determination during the third and fourth sets demonstrated tangible progress for the program.
“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.
“Tonight’s experience will come back and prove very valuable as we build our program. We end our season with double the wins from last year and our first playoff appearance – the future is bright for sure,” Dulfer said.
McCombs led the Hartford attack with 10 kills and a .094 hitting percentage while adding seven digs. Freshman Amara Rhodes directed the offense with 21 assists, nine digs, and two kills, while Martir-Perez matched her with nine digs.
Endicott was led by Ava Grace Dresback with 11 kills, eight digs, and five aces. Lincoln Abramaitys contributed 10 kills, 12 digs, and five aces for the Gulls.
The Conference of New England tournament match took place on Tuesday night at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. The loss concludes the 2026 schedule for the Hartford volleyball team.
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