DARTMOUTH, Mass. - In its final nonconference match of the season, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth volleyball team swept Bridgewater State (25-18, 25-18, 25-17). The team honored junior
Marley Alexander, who will be graduating a year early, prior to the game.
The Corsairs improve to 18-7 and finish the year with a 13-5 nonconference record, while the Bears fall to 9-9 on the year.
Sophomore
Kate Wade led the team with 11 kills and added seven digs, while Alexander recorded nine kills and a pair of blocks. Freshman
Emily Pogorelec was the match leader with 15 digs and junior
Devon Laing tallied eight digs. Freshmen
Emma Rousseau (16) and
Sabrina Bordone (15) were the leading assist getters.
The first set looked like it could have gone either way. After Bridgewater State took a 3-1 lead, a pair of kills by sophomore
Chelsea Sanker helped give UMass Dartmouth a 4-3 advantage. The teams then went back-and-forth until the Corsairs were up 15-14. Alexander then recorded a kill to spark a 10-4 run with kills by Wade and sophomore
Monika Kristjansdottir. Laing sent home a kill to take the first set.
UMass Dartmouth kept up the momentum from the first set and took a quick, 8-3, advantage in the second after kills by Sanker, Alexander and back-to-back aces from Rousseau. Kills by Laing, Wade, Sanker and an ace from Pogorelec built the lead to 19-10. Two more Rousseau aces and kills from Wade, Alexander and junior
Gabriella Monico made it a 2-0 match lead.
The third set was similar to the second as kills by Laing, Wade and Sanker upped the score to 6-3 early on. Bordone, Wade and Alexander kept it going to grow the advantage to 12-7. An ace by Laing and kill from Wade brought the lead to 19-11. Finally, a kill and an ace from Wade finished the match.
UMass Dartmouth is at Eastern Connecticut on Saturday at 1 p.m. to close the regular season. Depending on the outcome, the Corsairs could finish as high as the second seed in the LEC Tournament or as low as fourth. Either way, UMass Dartmouth will be hosting its first round matchup.
