Willimantic, Conn. -  The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team erased an early nine-point deficit in the second set on the way to a 25-22, 25-21, 26-24 victory over Clark University Tuesday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

The win is the third straight for Eastern (3-1) following a season-opening loss and is the sixth straight for the Warriors over Clark (1-1) in this series which dates back to 1977.

After outscoring Clark 9-2 down the stretch to take the first set, the Warriors pulled out of a 10-1 hole to open the second set, outscoring the Cougars 21-6 to move out to a five-point lead late in the match. There were seven ties in the third set before Eastern closed out the match by scoring five of the final seven points.

As a team, the Warriors scored 12 points on service aces and seven more on blocks. Junior outside hitter  Samantha Slonski led Eastern with ten kills and a .333 attack percentage, while junior middle blocker Kristianna Ibsen had seven kills.

Junior libero Taylor Abelli four service aces and ten digs, junior setter Ashley Markley ten digs, four blocks and 27 set assists,  junior outside hitter Britt Carrier eight digs and junior setter Gianna Trombino three service aces. Trombino served a total of ten points in the match. Junior middle blocker Katie Wilson had five kills and three blocks before leaving the match in the second set with a sprained ankle.

Coming off a season-opening sweep against Mount Ida College, Clark got 11 kills from senior outside hitter Maritza Fair (The Bronx, N.Y.), 12 digs from junior libero Kortney Kelley (Barnstable, Mass.) and 30 set assists, nine digs and three blocks from freshman setter Rachel Spera (North Hollywood, Calif). Freshman outside hitter Katie Byrnes (Southington, Conn.) added nine kills.

The Cougars return to action on Sunday when they take art in the Worcester City Tournament. Their first contest begins at 9:00 a.m. against Division II Assumption College.