WEST HARTFORD, CT—Host Hartford picked up its first win of the 2017 season, topping visiting NJIT, 3-1, Friday evening at the Hartford Invitational.

NJIT (2-5) won the first set, 25-22, but the Hawks (1-7) took the next three frames, 25-18, 25-12 and 25-21 to earn the victory.

Hartford, which hit .306 for the match, was led by freshman Abbey Nash, notching a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs.  Senior outside hitter Katy Henchy recorded 11 kills while Daisy Eklund and Alyse Wenzel posted eight and seven kills respectively.

Senior setter Astrid Mangual Duran piled up a team-best 24 assists and added 14 digs followed by Megan Scherer with 16 assists and seven digs.

Libero Nicole Etta combined for 14 digs and six assists for the Hawks.

The Hawks led the service ace category, paced by Megan Scherer with three aces.

For NJIT, Tess Albyn led the Highlander offense with 10 kills followed by Iva Mandic and Adrianne Bynoe with nine kills apiece.  Sophomore transfer Alahna Diaz added eight kills followed by seven from senior Alyssa Armada.

Armada, the Highlanders setter, combined for a match-high 29 assists while junior libero Adriana Nieto nearly posted a double-double, recording a match-best 20 digs and nine assists.  Diaz and Armada added 10 digs.

In front of the net, Mandic and Bynoe combined for seven total blocks for NJIT.

NJIT started off the first frame, scoring four straight points for a 4-0 advantage.  Hartford rallied back and pulled within one of the visitors early, 5-6, after a kill by Brittany Braun. 

Both teams traded points and saw its first tie at, 9-9, on a Highlanders attacking error.  The set saw two more ties, the final at 12-12 as the visitors pushed ahead, 19-13 on a kill by Diaz.  Hartford surged back to close gap to within two, 20-22 but NJIT went on to take the first set, 25-22.

In the second set, NJIT jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, resulting in a Hartford timeout.  The Hawks regrouped and scored the next three points out of the timeout, pulling within two, 5-7, and later found some momentum knotting the set at 9-9 and pushed ahead 11-9 for its first lead. 

The Highlanders slimmed the lead to one, 12-13, on a kill by Bynoe but the Hawks scored three consecutive points, to take a four-point lead, 16-12, resulting in an NJIT timeout. 

Hartford took control of the set in the mid-teens, building an eight-point lead, 23-15, after a kill by Henchy.  The Highlanders got as close as 18-24 as Hartford went on to tie the match at 1-1 after a 25-18 victory.

The Hawks took a commanding victory in the third set, 25-12, behind a .423 hitting percentage, taking a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth set, Hartford used a 9-1 spurt, for an 11-6 lead and later extending to 16-9.  NJIT scored three points in a row (12-17), but the Hawks pushed it lead to 21-14.

The Highlanders fought back until the very end, slimming the lead to three, 21-24, but the Hawks closed out the match on a kill by Henchy for a 25-21 victory.

NJIT will return to action on Saturday at 10am against CCSU and conclude the Hartford Invitational at 2:30pm against Niagara.