BOSTON, Mass. – Powered by a combined 52 kills, including 20 from senior
Kate Wade, the UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team recorded a 3-1 (25-17, 25-10, 19-25, 25-16) over UMass Boston in Little East Conference action on Wednesday evening. The victory moves the Corsairs to 14-5 overall and 2-0 in LEC play, while the Beacons slip to 9-7 and 0-2 in conference.
Wade - an outside hitter and captain - paced the effort, recording 20 kills with just five errors on 53 swings. She added 14 digs. Rookie right side
Olivia Seutter had 10 kills with two block solos, a block assist and six digs, while senior opposite and captain
Chelsea Sanker notched eight kills. Junior defensive specialist and captain
Emily Pogorelec had a match-high 35 digs with four assists and a service ace. Sophomore setter
Skye Peters added 26 assists on the night with seven digs.
First set action saw the Corsairs open up an early 10-6 lead, backed by five straight points and a pair of kills from Sanker to pace the way. The homestanding Beacons pulled to within four (16-12), aided by a pair of strikes from Mya Perron, but a seven-point run – which saw two kills each from Seutter and sophomore outside hitter
Ella Soutter – made it a 23-12 advantage. UMass Boston pulled to within seven (24-17) , but a kill from Sanker gave UMassD the set victory.
After a solid second set, which saw the Corsair limit the Beacons to just 10 points, the home team battled back in the third. Facing a 5-0 deficit following several attacking errors, UMass Boston rallied as a kill from Jade Hernandez sparked an 8-0 run that saw the Beacons establish a 15-10 lead. A 4-0 run, including kills from Soutter, sophomore outside hitter
Allison Pate and Wade closed the gap to 18-15, but the Beacons continued to keep pace. UMassD pulled it to within 23-19, but a pair of errors gave the home team the third set victory.
UMass Dartmouth came out strong in the fourth set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead behind three straight kills from Wade. Another 5-0 run pushed the margin to 14-6, and the Corsairs continued to build their lead. Holding a 22-14 lead, the visitors took advantage of a pair of costly errors to make it match point and the Beacons committed another attacking error to close out the set and the match in favor of the Corsairs.
The Corsairs return to action on Saturday at 12pm, welcoming LEC-rival Keene State to the Tripp Gymnasium.
