DARTMOUTH, Mass. - After four close sets against Plymouth State, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth volleyball team found themselves on the wrong end of the final score, 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-19), but went pound-for-pound with one of the top teams in the Little East Conference.
The Corsairs (3-3, 0-1 LEC) were led defensively by freshman
Emily Pogorelec, who tallied 26 digs, to go over 100 in six matches and 21 sets played for a conference leading 5.05 digs per set. Sophomore
Kate Wade and junior
Maggie Sullivan each notched 10 kills, while Wade added eight digs and the junior duo of
Devon Laing and
Marley Alexander both had eight kills respectively.
UMass Dartmouth jumped ahead to a fast start against the Panthers (5-2, 1-0 LEC), gaining an early 8-3 lead thanks to an ace by freshman
Sabrina Bordone and a kill from Laing. The closest Plymouth State would get to was 10-9, but kills by Sullivan and sophomore
Chelsea Sanker helped the Corsairs to a 5-0 run to bring the advantage to 15-9. A pair of kills by Wade mixed with a number of errors by the Panthers set up Laing and Sullivan to finish off the first set and put UMass Dartmouth up in the match.
Plymouth State answered back and took a 9-3 lead to start the second set. UMass Dartmouth clawed back to make it a 17-15 deficit after kills by Wade and Sullivan. The Panthers then matched every point and eventually closed the set on a 4-1 spurt to even the match.
The Corsairs played to extra points in the third set. After falling behind, 8-3, kills by Alexander, Laing, Wade and Sullivan eventually brought it to 21-20. UMass Dartmouth slowly but surely forced extra points on a Plymouth attack error and a kill by Laing to tie the set at 25. After taking a 27-26 lead, Plymouth State scored three-straight points to take it, 29-27, and earn the advantage.
The fourth set was back-and-forth until the 15-point mark. With the Panthers ahead, 15-14, the road team closed the match on a 10-4 run to finish things off.
UMass Dartmouth returns to the court on Saturday for a tri-match at Roger Williams. The Corsairs first face SUNY Potsdam at 1 p.m. and then the Hawks at 3 p.m.
