DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's volleyball team wrapped up their home invitational on Saturday with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-22) win over Mount Holyoke College and then a 3-2 (25-15, 19-25, 29-27,15-25, 12-15) loss in an electric match with Babson College.
After the weekend at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational, the Corsairs advance to 5-5 overall as the Lyons sit at 5-4 and the Beavers advance to 8-1 after an unblemished weekend. Also competing this weekend was the UMass Boston Beacons, who now rest at 6-4, and the Roger Williams University Hawks who exit the Invitational at 3-5.
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. Junior
Kate Wade tallied seven kills as she was joined by junior
Chelsea Sanker and seniors
Devon Laing and
Gabriella Monico who added three kills each.
They second set was more of the same, as the Corsairs cruised to a 25-19 victory thanks to a six-kill frame from Wade. While leading the set 22-19, senior
Maggie Sullivan slammed home a kill to get her own serve. The Corsairs were able to close out the set, 25-19 on Sullivan's serves.
Mount Holyoke jumped ahead to a 9-5 lead early in the final set, before Wade tallied another kill to take over the serve. Wade's service brought the Corsairs all the way back and then into the lead with five consecutive points to put UMD on top, 11-9. Sophomore
Sabrina Bordone had a solid service featuring two more Wade kills as the Corsairs claimed the 3-0 victory.
In the final match on the main court for the weekend, UMass Dartmouth faced off with Babson College, two teams who proved to be some of the strongest programs at the Invitational. The Corsairs were on fire early and soared to a large 25-15 win of the first set, thanks in large part to a stretch of 13 consecutive points for UMD, on serves from freshman
Skye Peters.
The Beavers claimed set number two by six points, setting up a third set with the teams tied 1-1. The third set was electric as the Tripp Center was booming during a back-and-forth set including several long volleys. Eight different Corsairs recorded kills in the set that finished with UMass Dartmouth on top, 29-27.
With the Corsairs leading the match 2-1, Babson College came out and had their strongest set in the fourth frame. The Beavers took a commanding 25-15 win in the set to force the fifth set, where they would go on to win 15-12 and take the match 3-2.
For the Corsairs on the day, Wade tallied 16 kills in each match for 32 on the day. She also led the team in digs in the first match against Mount Holyoke with 17. Peters and Bordone continue to thrive in the setter positions, tallying 35 and 34 assists on the day, respectively. Pogorelec put on a defensive showcase all day, but especially in the final match against Babson, where she was all over the floor on her way to 29 digs. In the same game she recorded 11 assists and an ace, doing everything she could to try to overcome Babson's attack.
After going 2-1 in their home Invitational, the UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team will stay right at home as Worcester State travels to them on Thursday, September 21, for a 6:00pm matchup with the Lancers.
