Volleyball Sweeps to Close Out Opening Weekend

DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Powered by a team-high 22 kills on the day by sophomore opposite Olivia Seutter, UMass Dartmouth posted matching 3-0 victories over Ursinus College and Suffolk University at Tripp Gym on Saturday. The Corsairs bested the Bears by a 25-8, 25-21, 25-16 margin, while defeating the Rams, 25-13, 25-22, 25-19, to improve to 3-0 on the young season. Ursinus posted a 3-1 victory over Suffolk in the middle match of today's tri-match.

In the opening match against Ursinus, the Corsairs were paced by junior captain and outside hitter Allison Pate, who dropped in a match-high 11 kills, adding 13 digs. Seutter had eight kills with three block assists and two digs, while senior defensive specialist and captain, Emily Pogorelec dropped in a match-best 14 digs with a service ace and an assist. Junior setter Skye Peters posted 15 assists with 10 digs to go along with two aces, while rookie defensive specialist Tiffany London recorded a match-high four aces with a kill and six digs. Rookie middle blocker Aleek Kuot added four kills with three block assists.

UMass Dartmouth crusied to the opening set win, but faced a solid front in the middle frame. Despite a 7-3 advantage, the Bears battled back, tipping the scales to 15-12 for a three-point deficit. An ace from Samantha Orlando and a Mel Eglinton kill paved the way. An error from the Corsairs later moved the score to 22-19, but the home team rallied, taking advantage of a service error and an attacking error by the Bears to make it set point. Ursinus battled back once more, but a kill from Pate sealed the set win and a 2-0 lead.

In the final frame, the Bears charged from behind once again to make an 8-5 Corsairs lead into a one-point (8-7) game, but several Ursinus errors, coupled with kills from junior opposite Maddie Carter, Seutter and Kuot, opened a 15-9 lead for UMD. Another 5-0 run pushed the Corsairs lead to 20-10 and the home team claimed three of the final four points for the final set win.

Match two of the day for UMass Dartmouth saw the home team facing a challenger that has had their number over the last two meetings - most recently a 3-1 Suffolk win in 2023. The Corsairs rolled once again to a smooth set win - which featured eight service aces - for the 1-0 advantage, but faced strong opposition in the middle stanza. The home team owned a 7-3 lead, but three straight points, including an ace from Mackenzie Heaney, closed the gap to one (7-6). A kill and an ace from Pate helped to regain the lead, but the Rams battled right back, making it an 11-10 score. 

The two teams continued back-and-forth with UMD holding the 18-16 lead following an error and then an ace by senior setter and captain Sabrina Bordone. The Rams once again made things interesting trailing 21-17, going on a 3-0 run to narrow the gap, but the Corsairs answered as kills from Pate, junior middle blocker Vivian Neyman and Seutter put the home team on the brink of set point. Suffolk attempted the comeback once more, but a kill from Seutter ended the frame.

 Third set action saw the Corsairs playing catch-up as the Rams opened an 8-3 advantage early. Trailing 13-8, UMD got back-to-back kills from Seutter to help close the gap to 13-11 and a 6-0 quickly followed as the Corsairs took a 17-14 lead. Another solid run, which included an ace from Bordone made it a 20-15 lead, but the Rams didn't remain silent for long, narrowing the lead to 20-18. The Corsairs shut down the visitors after that point, allowing just one more point, while posting five of their own to conclude the match victory.

Seutter led the way with 14 kills and zero errors on 27 total swing (.519), while adding an assist, a block assist and two digs. Pate posted seven kills with 17 digs and three aces, while Pogorelec had another match-best 18 digs to go along with three aces. London once again paced the match, dropping in a match-high four aces with three digs. Peters added 16 assists with two aces and four digs, while Bordone had 13 assists, two aces and three digs.

UMass Dartmouth - which averaged 10.83 kills per set and 3.67 aces per set in Saturday's action, is right back in action on Tuesday, welcoming Worcester State to Tripp Gym at 6:00pm.