The story of a team goes far beyond the scoreboard. Central Connecticut State University  volleyball showcased that this weekend at the Fairfield Invitational. The three-game weekend saw three losses for the team,  but within losses showed flashes of a great team.

In their first game of the weekend against Harvard, who went 2-1 on the weekend, Central kept things tight the whole way. Trailing late into the first set 18-17, Central would go on a 6-0 run and win the first set by way of a Gala Galabova kill.

They again scored six straight in the second set to tie it at 18 apiece. The Blue Devils would end up taking the set victory after a service error from the Harvard.

The Crimson would not look back after the first two losses, going on a 7-2 run to grab the critical third set 25-20.

The Blue Devils were minutes away from victory in the fourth set, up 23-21 late. Harvard, however, would go on to score four straight and win the set 25-23.

The decisive fifth set was all but one-sided, as Harvard led the way after Central’s first point, winning the set 15-12, taking the match.

Madelyn Kaprelyan led Central with 15 kills, while Ashlyn Eisenga posted 20 digs and Erin McDermott ended with 21 assists.

Central’s second day of matches proved to have similar results. They faced Northeastern, who like Harvard, went 2-1 on the weekend. The first set saw both teams go on runs and exchange leads. Central took charge late, having a Kaprelyan kill line up the set point for the team. But the Huskies would not lay down, as they scored three straight to take the set, 26-24.

Northeastern’s fast tempo made things difficult for Central, as head coach Linda Sagnelli noted.

“It’s not always just pass, set, hit and dig. The game often gets into quick exchanges, and if you’re not paying attention, you’re going to lose a point. We made some unforced errors and that comes back to hurt you.”

The Blue Devils could not keep up during the second set, failing to close the gap to fewer than four after falling to a 10-5 lead. Northeastern would go on to win the set 25-20.

In the third set, senior Raquel Quirarte entered the match for the first time and the results were instant. Quirarte would grab four of her five kills in the match during that set, including one that secured the set win.

As for why the senior Quirarte did not start, coach Sagnelli explained that the team has  “been trying to find players that will step up, be the most efficient on the court. Raquel was just hitting 0.56 percent in yesterday’s match. We have three outside hitters, any of them could start any given game, they’re so close in talent. We’ve been in a lull recently where our players have been committing unforced errors. One might shine in a game and one might not, so we want to give everyone opportunities.”

Central was unable to extend the game further than the fourth, where they were outscored 25-19, losing the game.

After the game, Sagnelli remarked that “their setter was outstanding. She put them in a position to win, I think she’s the best center we’ve faced this year. Because she was spot on, the hitters were able to do whatever they wanted with the ball.”

The Huskies played tough against Central, which Sagnelli thought “was really good playing against them. It’s getting us ready for NEC play, that’s what we’re looking forward to. We’re trying to win these games, but if we don’t, hopefully, we can take something away from it that we can work on.”

Central’s last game of the tournament might not have looked the best on the scoreboard, but easily saw the Blue Devils at their best. Opponent Michigan State, who sat at 8-1 entering the game, was certainly the favorite to win the match, especially after starting setter Kaitlyn Kushman suffered a hyperextended elbow in the Northeastern match which sidelined her for the game.

Without a solution to fill in for Kushman, Sagnelli recalls “Kaprelyan came up to me and said she could it so I thought I might as well give her a chance. I trusted her, and she did a phenomenal job. She blew us away with any expectation we had.”

According to Kaprelyan, she had not set before this game in four years, but was not worried.

“I had fun, no pressure at all.” admitted Kaprelyan, “I trusted my teammates to put it away.”

Central was able to shock the Spartans in the first set, taking an early 15-11 lead. Michigan would come back and score on two straight kills to end the set 25-23.

Central was able to keep up with the Spartans the remainder of the set, but ended up losing the second and third set 25-20 and 25-19, respectively.

Sagnelli remarked after the game that she “saw a team rally around a player and believe, and really attacked Michigan State. If they can do that against them, we can do that against any team in our conference.”

Central now sits at 2-8 and will face Iona, where Sagnelli formerly coached, on Wednesday.