DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a comeback effort in the final two sets, the UMass Dartmouth volleyball team defeated UMass Boston, 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20, 15-9) in a critical Little East Conference matchup on Wednesday. The Corsairs move to 19-6 overall with a perfect 6-0 mark in conference play. The Beacons are now 11-11 and 3-2 in the Little East.
Trailing by a 2-1 margin, the Corsairs rebounded in the fourth set, opening up a 9-3 lead behind several Beacons errors and a kill from junior outside hitter and captain
Allison Pate. A kill from Josie Becker helped pull UMass Boston to within one (12-11), but UMD kept pace, utilizing a 3-0 run with an ace from senior defensive specialist and captain
Emily Pogorelec highlighting the run for a 19-15 lead.
A kill by Addie Blomgren helped the Beacons once again battle back, closing the margin to 22-20, but two straight errors along with a kill from sophomore opposite
Olivia Seutter gave UMass Dartmouth the set win and tied the match.
Heading into the fifth and final frame, the Corsairs found themselves down by a 4-2 margin following another strike from Blomgren. UMass Dartmouth answered, going on a 3-0 run with kills by Seutter and Pate for the 6-5 advantage.
UMass Boston battled back once again, taking a 7-6 lead, but the Corsairs nabbed the eighth point on a UMB error and a kill from junior setter
Skye Peters made it a 9-7 lead for the home team. Another Blomgren kill followed, but the Corsairs nabbed six of the next seven points, including two kills from freshman outside hitter
Ashley Serverius and a kill and ace from rookie middle blocker
Aleek Kuot closed out the match win for UMass Dartmouth.
Seutter paced the effort, notching a match-high 17 kills, adding a block assist and nine digs. Pogorelec had a match-best 27 digs with five assists and a service ace, while Peters posted two kills, 29 assists, an ace and 17 digs. Pate notched 14 kills with two assists, an ace, a block assist and 17 digs, while Serverius finished with 12 kills and seven digs. Junior opposite
Maddie Carter added a match-high four block solo with three block assists as well.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday with another critical LEC match-up at Tripp Gym. The Corsairs welcome Eastern Connecticut State for Senior Day at 1pm as UMD celebrates Pogorelec and senior setter
Sabrina Bordone for their incredible careers.
