DARTMOUTH, Mass. -Â With playoff seeding on the line, it was Eastern Connecticut who rallied from two-sets down to defeat the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth volleyball team, 3-2 (14-25, 20-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-11), Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center to close the regular season.
The Corsairs (11-11, 4-4 LEC) will be the No. 6 seed and face Keene State in the upcoming Little East Conference Tournament beginning on Tuesday. The Warriors (17-7, 5-3 LEC) are the No. 5 seed in the playoffs and have a meeting at Western Connecticut in the quarterfinal round.
Freshman
Kate Wade finished with 14 kills and 20 digs, while sophomore
Devon Laing recorded 14 kills, 15 digs and three blocks, and sophomore
Marley Alexander had 10 kills. Junior
Vanessa Barreto compiled 18 digs and freshman
Zoe Dizenzo gave out 43 assists.
It was a dominant first-set win for UMassD. The Corsairs took a 12-2- lead with kills by Wade and Alexander and an ace from Barreto. Laing and freshman
Lauryn Latimore got in on the action to extend the advantage to 20-6, and Laing finished it off with a kill to take a 1-0 match lead.
East Conn found its footing in the second, making it a back-and-forth set. With the score tied at 13, a kill by Alexander and an ace from Wade started a 9-4 run to put UMassD up, 22-17. A kill by Wade and an ace from Laing then gave the Corsairs a 2-0 advantage in the match.
The Warriors then made their slow climb back into it. Momentum went on their side in the third as East Conn took a 4-0 lead and never gave it up. UMassD put up a good fight, closing the gap to 17-15 after a kill by Laing, but the Warriors finished the set on a 9-4 run to get back in the match.
East Conn ran out to an 8-1 lead in the fourth and eventually found themselves ahead, 21-12, and took the set, 25-16, to set up a decisive fifth set.
Down 7-3, Wade, Alexander, sophomore
Maggie Sullivan, Laing and freshman
Chelsea Sanker all got kills to even the score at 10. The Warriors then scored five of the final six points to seal the deal.
UMass Dartmouth is at Keene State, who they beat earlier this season (3-1), for the quarterfinal round of the LEC Tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m.