WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -Â The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth swept Eastern Connecticut for the first time in the 52-match history of the series Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium (25-16, 25-20, 25-15).
The Corsairs (19-7, 6-2 LEC) gain the No. 3 seed and host the first round of the Little East Conference (LEC) Tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for the first time since 2001. The Warriors (14-9, 5-3 LEC) finish fifth in the standings and take a season-high four-match losing streak into its first-round road match Tuesday at fourth-seed Western Connecticut State University.
Nine of the Corsairs' points in the match came on a total of 16 blocks as the Warriors attacked at a season-low .040 and were beaten at home for the first time this year after eight wins. Junior Maggie Sullivan led the Corsairs with five block assists and two solo blocks, with four teammates adding two block assists apiece.
Offensively for UMass Dartmouth, Sullivan also was also a factor with five kills and a .714 attack percentage, while sophomores Chelsea Sanker and Kate Wade provided fire-power with nine kills each. Freshman Emily Pogorelec, Wade and junior Devon Laing all had eight digs, while freshman setter Sabrina Bordone went for 17 assists.
Eastern Connecticut's Senior All-American Anna Barry and sophomore Bella Johnson combined for 17 kills for the Warriors, but attacked at only .154, in what likely will be Eastern's final home match of the season.
UMass Dartmouth took the lead for good early in the first set and used an 8-1 run to secure the win, then played come-from-behind in the second set to move within a win of the sweep. In the second set, Eastern grabbed the early momentum by scoring the first four points and holding the lead throughout most of the set before the Corsairs reeled off the final ten points to wipe out a five-point, 20-15 deficit. UMass Dartmouth trailed by a slim margin through the first part of the final set, but scored six in a row to take a 15-10 lead and was never threatened the rest of the way.
UMass Dartmouth hosts UMass Boston in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
