CASTLETON, Vt. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's volleyball team wrapped up their tri-match on Saturday with a 3-0 (26-16, 25-16, 25-18) win over VTSU Castleton and then another 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-22) victory over Rivier.
After the weekend in Castleton, the Corsairs continue their run and improve to 16-5 overall and now 6-0 in LEC play, while the Spartans sit at 6-11 overall and 0-5 in the conference and the Raiders move to 12-7.
UMass Dartmouth had a dominant showing in their first contest on Saturday. In the opening set, the Corsairs saw their upperclassmen set the tone early. Juniors
Chelsea Sanker and
Kate Wade, along with seniors
Devon Laing and
Gabriella Monico, each tallied at least three kills in the first set. Two final kills from Monico gave the Corsairs the 25-16 win of the first set.
UMass Dartmouth kept their pace into the second set, claiming a 19-11 lead before a Castleton time out. Coming out of the break, it was Monico once again who closed out the set for the Corsairs, adding another three kills to her total in the final 4 points, as UMass Dartmouth took the set, 25-16.
VTSU Castleton jumped ahead to a 12-8 lead in the third set, before a spree of three kills from Sanker, followed by another from Wade, put UMD back on top 16-15. It was at this point of the set when sophomore
Emma Rousseau checked in. Rousseau took over the serve and extended the distance between these two teams by guiding a five-point run, including an ace. The Corsairs cruised their way to yet another 3-0 victory by taking the third set, 25-18.
In the first match with Castleton, Sanker led the way with 11 kills on .381 hitting and Monico followed her up with 10 kills of her own. Sophomore
Sabrina Bordone led the team with 18 set assists, followed by freshman
Skye Peters who tallied 15. Freshman
Maria Torres recorded three big service aces for the Corsairs as well. The sophomore Libero and reigning LEC Defensive Player of the Year
Emily Pogorelec tallied a game-high 23 digs. Castleton saw six kills from junior Hailey Martinovich, 15 set assists from junior Maddie Delsignore, and 13 digs from freshman Sophia Call.
In the final match for the weekend, UMass Dartmouth faced off with Rivier. The Corsairs have been on fire lately and showed no signs of slowing down on Saturday. They jumped out to an 11-8 lead in the opening frame, in thanks to Wade and Laing who each recorded a couple of early kills. With a 13-10 lead in the set, the gap really opened up when Sanker recorded three straight kills, starting a seven-point spree featuring a fourth kill from Sanker and a couple Raider errors. With a comfortable20-10 lead, the Corsairs cruised to a 25-14 win of the opening set.
The Raiders showed their resilience by claiming an early lead in the second set. While leading 8-6, Rivier faced yet another five-point run from the Corsairs, giving the lead back to UMass Dartmouth at 11-8. A little later in the set, with the Corsairs still leading by three, the LEC Aces leader in Pogorelec added to her total, with two consecutive service aces amidst a four-point streak. The two programs traded points down the stretch of the second set, but UMass Dartmouth out-lasted the Raiders, 25-16, to go u 2-0 in the match.
With the Corsairs leading the match 2-0, Rivier came out and had their strongest set in the third frame. The Raiders took their biggest lead of the match at 16-12, thanks to some strong play from junior Lilly Sills and a couple UMD errors. But as this Corsairs squad has often done this season, they responded with a run of their own and re-took the lead from the Raiders. Peters had two aces and Laing added one in a 5-1 stretch that gave UMD a 21-18 lead. Following an ace from Ryan Hicks, the Raiders were able to tie the set up at 21-21, but the UMass Dartmouth attack proved too much, as they claimed the third and final set 25-22 and took the match 3-0.
For the Corsairs in game two, Sanker and Laing led the team once again in kills with 10 each. Laing also recorded 12 digs and an ace. Peters had a sensational match with a season-best five service aces for her, along with a match-high 16 set assists. Wade tallied eight kills and a match-best 15 digs. Pogorelec had 13 digs and two aces.
The Raiders saw six kills from Sills and sophomore Ali Rivera. Senior Sofia Pawlusik led the team with 11 digs, and Hicks and sophomore Kaitlyn Miler each had nine set assists. Hicks also recorded three service aces and two block assists.
After going 3-0 for the weekend, the UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team has been on a tear. They have won nine straight matches and 15 consecutive sets. The Corsairs remain undefeated in conference play at 6-0, and have only dropped one set to a conference opponent. They wrap up their road trip and return to the Tripp Center to play Eastern Connecticut in a 7PM LEC meeting with the Warriors on Friday, October 27.
