DARTMOUTH, Mass. -Â After dropping the first set by 12 points, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth volleyball team bounced back to win over Wentworth, 3-1 (13-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-14).
The victory snaps a three-match losing streak for the Coirsairs (2-3) and improves the teams' record to 2-1 at the Tripp Athletic Center, while the Leopards (6-3) drop just their second match in their last eight contests.
Junior
Vanessa Barreto led the team defensively with 18 digs and recorded two aces, while freshman
Kate Wade collected 12 digs, and sophomore Devon laing had 10 digs. On offense, freshman
Chelsea Sanker led the team with nine kills, while sophomore
Marley Alexander and Wade finished with seven kills. Freshman
Zoe Dizenzo dished out a match-high 31 assists.
Wentworth took control of the first set, jumping ahead to a 14-6 lead with 10 kills in that sequence of points. Sanker, Alexander and sophomore
Devon Laing all had kills down the stretch, but the Leopards outscored the Corsairs, 11-7, to take a 1-0 advantage.
UMass Dartmouth made some changes for the second set, and it showed in the result. After Wentworth went up, 6-4, the Corsairs went on a 5-1 run highlighted by a kill from Wade to go ahead, 8-7. The teams then traded points as Laing, Sanker, and Alexander recorded kills until UMassD took a 24-23 lead. Wentworth made it interesting, forcing extra points, but the Corsairs held on as an ace from sophomore
Gabriella Monico tied the match at one.
The Corsairs ran away with the third and fourth sets. A fast start put UMassD up 11-6 in the third and kills by Monico, Laing, freshman
Monika Kristjansdottir, Sanker, Wade and Alexander closed the third on a 14-7 run to go ahead, 2-1.
Wentworth went up 5-2 in the fourth, but the Corsairs rattled off eight of the next 10 points to go up 12-7 and never looked back, finishing the set with a 25-14 score.
UMass Dartmouth is back in action for two matches on Saturday at Plymouth State. The Corsairs first play the Panthers at noon to open LEC play, the team follows that match with New England College at 2 p.m.
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