MONTCLAIR, N.J. - Behind 15 kills each from senior captain
Kate Wade and rookie
Olivia Seutter, the UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team defeated FDU-Florham, 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-20) in the season opener at day one of the Montclair State Invitational.
Wade - an outside hitter - laid down 15 kills with just two errors on 31 total attacks for a .419 hitting percentage, adding two service aces and 11 digs. Seutter was outstanding in her collegiate debut, dropping in 15 kills with just one error on 24 total attacks for a .583 margin. She also added a dig with a block solo and a block assist in the match. Senior middle blocker
Monika Kristjansdottir posted six kills with two block assists, while sophomore outside hitter
Allison Pate also had six kills with nine digs, an assist and a service ace.
Sophomore setter
Skye Peters had a match-best 21 assists with five digs, while senior setter
Sabrina Bordone added 19 assists with six digs. Junior defensive specialist and captain
Emily Pogorelec added a match-best 16 digs with four service aces.
For the Devils, Genevieve Fitch notched six kills with seven digs, while Tayla O'Connor had four kills with a squad-best 11 digs. Lilli Nawrotski added 15 assists with a service ace and six digs as Arianna Wood added five kills with an assist and two digs.
The Corsairs cruised in the opening set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead behind a service ace from Pogorelec. A kill from Sanker later made it a 12-6 lead but a 4-0 run from the Devils helped close the gap to three (13-10). Wood laid down a kill for FDU to later make it a 15-11 score, but the Corsairs rattled off 10 straight points, including three kills from Seutter and two aces from Pogorelec, to take the frame.
In the second set, the Corsairs continued to press, opening up an 11-3 lead following a kill from Wade. Back-to-back kills from Seutter and Wade, coupled with an FDU error made it a 17-7 advantage. UMass Dartmouth opened up a 20-12 advantage behind strikes from Seutter and Sanker, while a 4-0 run down the stretch served up the second set victory.
FDU-Florham came alive in the third set as a back-and-forth battle ensued throughout the frame. A kill from Sanker put the Corsairs up by an 8-5 margin, but three straight kills by the Devils tied it at 8-all. FDU took a 13-11 advantage on a service error, but five straight points helped push the Corsairs back into a lead they would not relinquish. A 4-0 run by FDU-Florham closed the gap to 22-20, but UMass Dartmouth saw a kill from Pate and an ace from sophomore outside hitter
Ella Soutter help seal the match victory.
The Corsairs are back in action tomorrow, facing off against the host Red Hawks at 11am in the Panzer Athletic Center on the Montclair State campus. UMass Dartmouth will close out its opening weekend at 1pm, taking on Vassar College.
