Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Western New England and Johnson & Wales both secured victory over UMass Dartmouth Volleyball on Saturday, as the Corsairs fell in a pair of 3-0 decisions in a tri-match hosted by the Golden Bears.
The Basics
Scores: Western New England 3, UMass Dartmouth 0 | Johnson & Wales 3, UMass Dartmouth 0
Records: Western New England 12-6 | Johnson & Wales 19-0 | UMass Dartmouth 6-14
How it Happened
The Corsairs narrowed the margin of defeat as competition went on against the Golden Bears to begin the afternoon before squaring off with undefeated Johnson & Wales in the second match, with the Wildcats soundly shutting the door.
Western New England 3, UMass Dartmouth 0
The Golden Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead to set the pace in the first set and led the rest of the way, but the Corsairs were able to get within two off a kill by freshman Nicole Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.), putting the score at 13-15. WNE secured a 25-14 score in the set after rattling off the last eight points.
In the second set, WNE pulled away, going up by as much as nine and keeping the margin there to wrap up a 25-14 win. The hosts then took advantage of six UMass Dartmouth errors to put the 25-19 third set out of reach.
Freshman Anita Sengara (Vancouver, B.C.) recorded a team-high 10 kills, fed by freshman Jordan Rittberger's (Huntington, N.Y.) 12 assists. Defensively, freshman Jillian Sykora (Waterford, Conn.) dug a match-high 12 balls without a reception error.
Johnson & Wales 3, UMass Dartmouth 0
The Corsairs mustered just 16 kills against the dominant Wildcats in the second match of the day. After putting the score at 9-8 in the first set on a JWU error, UMass Dartmouth then surrendered the next six points and could only add on five more as the Wildcats won 25-13. Set Two featured a JWU offensive onslaught, with the Wildcats winning 25-8 off 17 kills on a .378 team attack percentage to the Corsairs' three kills. JWU then never trailed in the third, taking the first five points and the last five to take another 25-13 victory.
Sengara posted five more kills on the match, while freshman Taila Roberson (Norwalk, Conn.) added four and senior Kayla Kirby (Westport, Mass.) three. Sykora and Silverman combined for 29 digs against the hard-hitting Wildcats while Rittberger tabulated 12 assists.
Inside the Numbers
- Western New England hit a team attack percentage of .384 against the Corsairs as the most accurate unit UMass Dartmouth has faced this season.
- Sykora reached double-digit digs in both matches after seeing single digits in the week's previous two matches.
- Rittberger has now reached double-digit assist totals in the past three matches.
- Johnson & Wales has dropped only one set on the entire season, winning 18 of 19 matches by a 3-0 margin.
Up Next
The Corsairs are back at home Tuesday, returning to Little East Conference play against Eastern Connecticut at 7 p.m.
