WELLESLEY, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth volleyball played two road matches on Saturday. The team first swept Wellesley, 3-0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-23), before falling in four sets at No. 22 Babson, 3-1 (25-15, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14).
The Corsairs move to 7-5 on the season, while the Blue drop to 4-7 and the Beavers improve to 12-1.
AT WELLESLEY
Sophomore
Kate Wade led the Corsairs with eight kills and 12 digs, while junior
Devon Laing tallied five kills and seven digs and freshman libero
Emily Pogorelec finished with seven digs and five aces. Freshman setter
Sabrina Bordone had 15 assists.
Wellesley jumped ahead to a 7-1 lead in the first set. A kill by junior
Marley Alexander gave UMass Dartmouth life and sparked a 6-1 run to cut the deficit to 8-7. The Blue then scored the next five points to extend their advantage to 13-7. The Corsairs then took over, closing the set on an 18-6 run with kills by Laing, sophomore
Chelsea Sanker, Monico and Alexander to take a 1-0 match lead.
It was all UMass Dartmouth in the second set. Monico got it started with a kill and three consecutive aces from Pogorelec eventually brought the score to 13-2. Wellesley would make it a 15-7 score, but a 10-2 run gave the Corsairs a 2-0 match advantage.
UMass Dartmouth led by a slim margin throughout the third set, holding leads of 15-14 and 21-17. Wellesley then scored four straight to even the set at 21. That was halted with kills by Wade and junior
Maggie Sullivan as the Corsairs closed the set on a 4-1 run to take the match.
AT NO. 22 BABSON
UMass Dartmouth took a set from Babson in their first match against a nationally ranked opponent. Monico led the way with 11 kills, while Wade tallied nine kills and 19 digs and Laing posted nine kills and nine digs. Pogorelec recorded 23 digs and now has 218 on the year for 5.06 digs per set.
Babson took control of the first set with big runs, jumping ahead, 10-4, then 16-5 and 24-12. A kill and two aces by Wade gave the Corsairs a late push, but the Beavers would go up 1-0 in the match.
The Corsairs regrouped and took the second set. After Babson went up, 7-2, four Beaver errors made it 7-6. UMass Dartmouth stayed the course as kills by Laing and Sanker eventually brought the deficit to 12-11. The Corsairs then went on a 8-3Â run with kills by Laing and Monico to take a 19-15Â advantage. Babson took the lead back with a 5-0 run, but UMass Dartmouth scored the final seven out of nine points to even the match at one.
A kill by Monico gave the Corsairs an 11-10 lead in the third set. Babson then scored 10 of the next 13 points to take a 20-14 lead. A pair of Monico kills and three aces by Pogorelec gave the Corsairs a 21-20 advantage, but the Beavers closed the set on a 5-2 run to go ahead in the match.
Babson then ran away in the fourth set, taking it 25-14, to win the match.
UP NEXT
UMass Dartmouth resumes Little East Conference play at home against Rhode Island College on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
