BABSON PARK, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team shouldered a pair of tough losses on the road Saturday, falling by a tough 3-2 (25-23, 26-24, 19-25, 21-25, 13-15) margin to Babson, while dropping a close 3-0 (26-28, 20-25, 22-25) match to Franklin & Marshall in tournament action at the Beavers Invitational.
The losses marks the first of the season for the Corsairs, who are now 4-2 overall. Babson moves to 5-1, while the Diplomats are now 6-1 on the young season.
Against Babson in the morning opener, the Corsairs powered their way to a 2-0 lead after a kill from senior outside hitter
Kate Wade, coupled with an attacking error against the Beavers gave UMassD the opening set win. The second set proved just as close as the two teams matched one another point-for-point throughout.
A kill from Babson's Lauren Griffin gave the home team a 23-21 advantage, but back-to-back kills from Wade tied the set at 23-all. The Corsairs used that momentum as Wade laid down another kill, followed by two errors on the Beavers for the 26-24 score.
After the Beavers battled back to force a fourth set, the Corsairs jumped out to the 12-9 advantage behind an ace from Wade. The home team rattled off four points to regain the lead and used the momentum to build up a 21-16 edge. UMass Dartmouth fired off four straight points with kills from Wade, sophomore outside hitter
Allison Pate and junior setter
Sabrina Bordone, but Babson turned the 22-21 score into a 25-21 set win behind a pair of kills from Griffin.
Fifth set action saw the Corsairs open up a solid lead, but momentum swung back in Babson's favor. With UMass Dartmouth holding the 13-11 lead, the Beavers fired off four straight points, including two service aces to end the match.
Babson saw Griffin record 16 kills with four digs and a block assist. Lauren Gips added 16 kills with three digs, three block assists and a block solo, while Sophia Shaw had a match-best 46 digs with two service aces. Zoe Ackerman posted a match-high 50 assists for the Beavers.
Wade led all match players with 22 kills, adding two aces and two block assists with 16 digs. Pate chipped in with 10 kills and ace and 27 digs, while junior defensive specialist
Emily Pogorelec had 32 digs, four assists and an ace. Sophomore setter
Skye Peters posted 22 assists with 12 digs, while Bordone chipped in with 17 assists and 10 digs.
Against the Diplomats, UMass Dartmouth played to another tight opening set. The Corsairs opened up a 15-11 advantage, aided by kills from Pate and Wade, but Franklin & Marshall battled back. The Diplomats went on a 3-0 run to pull within one, then used a kill from Liah Perez and an attacking error on the Corsairs to tie it at 17-all.
UMass Dartmouth continued to hold the lead until another 3-0 run pushed F&M to the 21-19 margin. A kill from rookie right side
Olivia Seutter tied the match at 24-24 as an error on the Diplomats pulled the Corsairs ahead by one. The Corsairs held a 26-25 lead but a kill by Rei Baker and an ace from Coco Shultz gave F&M the set win.
Second set saw F&M hold a 17-11 lead following a kill by Shultz. A 3-0 run for the Corsairs helped close the gap and another 3-0 run down 20-17 helped tie things at 20-all following a Peters ace. Despite the momentum, UMass Dartmouth could not hold off the Diplomats, who fired off five straight points to take the win.
Third set saw the Corsairs once again work to battle back pushing the deficit to 12-11 on a kill from Seutter. The Diplomats rebounded with three straight points and continued to hold the advantage until kills from sophomore middle hitter
Maddie Carter and Pate tied things at 19-all. F&M went on a 3-2 run down the stretch to seal the win.
The Diplomats got a match-high 11 kills from Gianna Mangiamele, who also added two digs and a block assist, while Shultz posted 10 kills with 10 digs. Melissa Benkowitz added nine kills with 10 digs and an ace as Carly Campbell had 19 assists with an ace and five digs.
The Corsairs were paced by Wade, who had nine kills and nine digs. Seutter added nine kills with two block assists, while Carter posted three kills and three block assists. Pogorelec had a match-high 13 digs with four assists and two service aces, while Peters added 16 assists and 11 digs.
UMass Dartmouth returns to the court on Tuesday, September 10 when it travels to Worcester State University. Match time is set for 7pm against the Lancers.
