DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team celebrated their senior class in fine fashion on Friday night, defeating Johnson & Wales by a 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-17) margin at Tripp Gymnasium. The Corsairs move to 18-5 on the season, while the Wildcats are now 14-11 overall.
The Corsairs began the game honoring their Senior Class, including middle blocker
Monika Kristjansdottir, opposite and captain
Chelsea Sanker and outside hitter and captain
Kate Wade. The trio combined for 23 total kills in the match, adding a combined 12 digs.
Wade led all players with 12 kills, adding seven digs with a block assist. Rookie right side
Olivia Seutter finished with 11 kills on the night, adding a block solo and a dig, while junior defensive specialist and captain
Emily Pogorelec had 17 digs. Sophomore setter
Skye Peters added 24 assists and two service aces with eight digs.
It was a tight opening set between the two teams as neither led by more than a couple points until the Corsairs opened up an 11-7 lead following a service error from the Wildcats. The home team continued to lead until a kill from Nevaeh Arnold and an attacking error on the Corsairs moved the score to 22-22. The Wildcats continued to match points but an error on the visitors, coupled with a kill from Sanker helped give UMass Dartmouth the set win.
The middle set saw UMass Dartmouth lay down six straight points, including kills from Sanker, Seutter and sophomore outside hitter
Allison Pate, building up a 13-6 lead. Another 6-0 run, aided by two kills from Wade and several Wildcats errors, moved the margin to 20-9. UMass Dartmouth went on a 5-2 run over the final stretch, including kills from Seutter, Wade, sophomore outside hitter
Ella Soutter and Sanker to put the home team up 2-0.
The final set saw the Corsairs open a 9-2 advantage, capitalizing on a number of errors from the visitors. Johnson & Wales countered with three straight points to close the gap to 15-11, but four straight points, including a Peters ace and a kill from Kristjansdottir, opened an eight-point margin (19-11). The visitors made another push, closing the score to 23-17, but a final kill from Wade and an error by JWU sealed the match win.
UMass Dartmouth is right back in action on Saturday, hosting Vermont State University Castleton in Little East action at the Tripp Gym. Match time is set for 11am.
