DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a dominant team performance, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's volleyball team advanced to the Little East Conference Championship Game with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-13) win over UMass Boston on Thursday. The win marks 12 in a row for UMass Dartmouth, the second-longest win streak in program history. The Corsairs improve to 19-6 this season and will host Plymouth State in the Conference Championship Game on Saturday. The Beacon's season comes to an end with a 17-10 record.
The Corsairs, who have been unquestionably the hottest team in the Conference, set the tone early in the opening set. Senior
Maggie Sullivan had a remarkable set with five kills, three block assists and a service ace. Junior
Kate Wade, who also had a big night, recorded four kills of her own as the Corsairs took a convincing 25-13 set.
The Tripp Center was packed for the team's first home Tournament Game, and the Corsairs fed off the deafening energy in the arena. After trailing 5-4 in the second set, the Corsairs regained momentum and pulled ahead to an 11-7 advantage after a service ace from sophomore
Sabrina Bordone. A flurry of UMass Boston errors extended the UMD lead to 15-8, before Sullivan took over the serve for the Corsairs and started a six-point run that would put the set out of reach for the Beacons. Senior
Devon Laing recorded three kills in that stretch. Another Wade kill would wrap up the second set for UMass Dartmouth, 25-13.
With a trip to the Conference Championship Game in sight, the Corsairs did not let their foot off the gas going into the third set. UMass Dartmouth jumped out to an 8-4 lead, causing UMass Boston to take a timeout. UMB responded coming out of the timeout with four straight to even the score, 8-8. The stretch for the Beacons featured kills from junior Dylan Wertzberger, sophomore Mikayla Cleary and freshman Paige Coulson.
With the pressure mounting and the crowd only getting louder, UMass Dartmouth took firm control of the game with another four-point stretch followed up by another nine-point run to extend the game out of reach for the Beacons. Sophomore
Emily Pogorelec was the server for the nine-point run that saw two kills from junior
Chelsea Sanker and one from Wade, along with a Pogorelec ace. Senior
Gabriella Monico capped off the night with a strong spike that UB couldn't return, and the Corsairs took the third and final set 25-13.
UMass Dartmouth was led offensively by Sanker and Wade, who tallied nine kills and a block assist each. Sullivan put on one of her best performances of the season in the biggest moment, recording eight kills on a phenomenal .571 hitting, three service aces and two block assists. Pogorelec and Wade shared the load defensively with 14 digs for each of them. Bordone and freshman
Skye Peters split the looks from the setter position, with 12 and 17 set assists, respectively.
UMass Boston saw seven kills from senior Livia Trindade and five from Wertzberger. Sophomore Ruby Ackerman led the team with 10 set assists.
For the first time in program history, the UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team will appear in the Little East Conference Final. After defeating Western Connecticut in their Semifinal matchup, the #2 seed Plymouth State will travel to Dartmouth on Saturday, Nov. 11 for a rematch from a couple weeks ago that is sure to be electrifying. The contest will be played in the Tripp Athletic Center at 6:30pm.
