WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – It was an outstanding day of road action for the UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team, which posted 3-0 victories over Eastern Connecticut State (25-16, 25-19, 25-22) and Bay Path University (25-15, 25-21, 25-20) on Saturday afternoon. The Corsairs improve to 21-5 overall and with the win over the Warriors, improve to 7-0 in Little East Conference action.
In the opener against the Warriors, UMass Dartmouth found themselves down 14-12 in the opening set following a service ace from Sadie Blackwell. The back and forth that had preceded the lead was soon over as the Corsairs went on an 11-0 run to capture a 23-14 lead. In that rally, senior outside hitter
Kate Wade posted a pair of aces, while senior opposite and captain
Chelsea Sanker added a pair of kills. Sophomore outside hitter
Allison Pate wrapped up the set with two kills to conclude the frame.
Second set action saw the Corsairs open a 15-7 lead following an ace from junior defensive specialist and captain
Emily Pogorelec. The visitors continued to add to their lead, widening the gap to 21-11 following a strike from rookie right side
Olivia Seutter and UMass Dartmouth closed things out with kills from Sanker and Wade down the stretch.
Third set action saw UMass Dartmouth holding a 23-18 lead, but the Warriors fought back as attacking errors plagued the Corsairs and Brooke Praskievicz laid down an ace and a kill to close the gap to 23-22. Despite the momentum, the Corsairs capitalized on a kill from Sanker and a Eastern Connecticut attacking error to wrap up the match win.
Sanker and Pate led the way, recording nine kills each, as Sanker posted a block solo, while Pate had two assists, two service aces and 12 digs. Pogorelec added five assists, an ace and 21 digs, while junior setter and captain
Sabrina Bordone posted 17 assists and five digs.
In the second match against Bay Path, the Corsairs gained the opening set win and held a 15-10 margin in the second frame until the Wildcats battle back. An ace from Mckenzie Labier helped close the gap to 15-13. Later, the Corsairs owned a 23-16 advantage following a kill and an ace from Sanker, but once again the visitors struck with three straight points to make it 24-21. A kill from Bordone pushed UMass Dartmouth to the set win and a 2-0 lead.
The final set saw UMass Dartmouth open a 19-9 lead following a kill from senior middle blocker
Monika Kristjansdottir and an ace from sophomore setter
Skye Peters. The Wildcats made it a game once again, closing the margin to 23-20 on an ace from Anastasiya Tsetsko, but the Corsairs took advantage of two errors to conclude the set and gain the win.
Seutter paced the Corsairs with 11 kills, adding a block solo and a dig. Wade posted nine kills with an ace and seven digs, while Sanker laid down seven kills, an ace, a block assist and two digs. Pogorelec added two aces with 16 digs, while Peters had an ace and 17 assists to go along with eight digs.
UMass Dartmouth returns to the court for a 12pm regular season finale showdown against Plymouth State University next Saturday. Both teams enter the match with 7-0 conference records with the winner of the November 9 match earning the top-seed in the upcoming LEC Tournament. Both teams have secured their spots in the conference semifinals.
