DANBURY, Conn. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth volleyball team put themselves in the conversation to host the first round of the Little East Conference (LEC) Tournament with a five-set victory at Western Connecticut on Saturday (25-21, 25-17, 21-25, 18-25, 15-8). The Corsairs then turned around and beat William Paterson in five as well (21-25, 25-10, 25-23, 24-26, 15-7).
With the wins, the Corsairs are now 16-6 and move to fourth place in the LEC with a 4-2 conference record, while the Wolves are now 11-9 and 4-2 in the LEC, and the Pioneers drop to 9-14.
VS. WEST CONN
It was the first-ever win in program history against Western Connecticut. Junior
Devon Laing finished with 16 kills and 14 digs, while sophomore
Kate Wade tallied 11 kills and a game-high 21 digs and junior
Marley Alexander notched 12 kills and 3.5 blocks. Freshman
Emily Pogorelec had 18 digs and five aces, while freshman
Sabrina Bordone led the Corsairs with 31 assists.
The first set went back-and-forth and West Conn led 11-9 early. UMass Dartmouth then used kills by Laing and sophomore
Chelsea Sanker to even the score at 14. An ace from Laing sparked am 11-7 run to make it a 1-0 match lead.
The second set was similar, as the Wolves took a 14-12 advantage midway through. A West Conn error and back-to-back aces from Wade jump started a 13-3 run to give the Corsairs a 2-0 match lead.
West Conn bounced back to take the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-18, to force a decisive fifth set.
Sanker started the fifth with a kill and after the score was 10-6, UMass Dartmouth rattled off five of the next six points to earn the statement win.
VS. WILLIAM PATERSON
Wade was everywhere with 15 kills and 19 digs, while Laing posted 13 kills and 12 digs and Pogorelec led all players with 24 digs and six aces. Bordone (20 assists, 10 digs) and freshman
Emma Rousseau (19 assists, 11 digs) each had double-doubles as well.
UMass Dartmouth ran ahead to a 12-8 lead in the first set, but William Paterson quickly evened the score and took control to go up, 1-0, in the match.
The Corsairs dominated the second set. With a 7-5 lead, a pair of aces by Alexander, kills by juniors
Gabriella Monico and
Maggie Sullivan, and Laing helped push the advantage to 20-6. Kills by Sullivan and Laing finished the set and evened the match.
Down 13-6, a kill by Wade and consecutive aces from Bordone helped give the Corsairs a 19-17 lead. The Pioneers then went up, 20-19, but kills by Alexander, Monico and Laing bolstered a 6-3 spurt to take a 2-1 match lead.
William Paterson won in extra points, 26-24, in the fourth to force a fifth set. With a 6-5 lead in the fifth, the Corsairs went for a 9-2 run to close the day.
UP NEXT
UMass Dartmouth is back at home on Saturday for a tri-match. The Corsairs first host LEC foe Castleton at 12 p.m. before meeting WPI at 4 p.m.
