DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Powered by a match-high 16 kills from junior captain
Allison Pate, the UMass Dartmouth volleyball team defeated Nazareth, 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-17) in the season-opener at Tripp Gym on Friday afternoon.
In addition to Pate, who added an assist, a service ace and a block assist with 14 digs, the Corsairs got 12 kills with zero errors on 27 swings (.444) from sophomore opposite
Olivia Seutter. Senior defensive specialist and captain
Emily Pogorelec added a match-best 17 digs with four assists, while junior middle blocker
Vivian Neyman recorded a match-high five service aces. Junior setter
Skye Peters posted 21 assists with an ace, while senior setter and captain
Sabrina Bordone dropped in 14 assists with an ace and six digs.
The Corsairs used a series of runs to open the first set, going up by a 14-5 margin on kills from Pate and freshman middle blocker
Aleek Kuot. Another 4-0 run, which included a pair of kills from Seutter, saw the home team open up a 19-8 margin. UMass Dartmouth continued to keep the visitors at bay, sitting on set point following a kill from junior opposite
Maddie Carter. Nazareth was able to grab two points back, but a final kill from rookie outside hitter
Ashley Serverius saw the Corsairs take the opening frame.
Second set action saw a flurry of points as the Corsairs opened a 14-3 advantage over the Golden Flyers. A pair of UMD errors, coupled with a kill from Sarah Harvey, helped close the gap for Nazareth, but the home team went on a four-point run, which included an ace from Neyman, to take the 21-7 lead. The visitors got kills from Leah Fusilli and Alana Lucey, but the Corsairs took advantage on a service ace from Pate and an error from the Golden Flyers to take the 2-0 match lead.
It was a back-and-forth battle to open the third set as the visitors looked to stave off elimination. Trailing 7-5, the Golden Flyers capitalized on a Corsairs error and a Lorianna Muttutat ace to tie the set at 7-all. Nazareth battled back once more and this time grabbed a 9-8 advantage on an error by Pate. The Corsairs rushed back into the lead, only to have Nazareth return fire as an ace from Madeline Saunders tied the frame once more at 13-all. The two teams continued to trade points, locked in another set tie at 17-17 before UMass Dartmouth went on an 8-0 run to conclude the match.
Neyman paced the effort in the final eight-point run, collecting three service aces, while Seutter and Pate each added two kills.
The Corsairs, who held a 10-4 advantage in aces and a 41-19 clip in assists for the contest, are right back in action on Saturday in tri-match action at Tripp Gym. UMD welcomes Ursinus College at 10am, before taking on Suffolk University at 2pm. The Bears and the Rams will play a neutral site match at 12pm.
