NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – It was a tough day of action for the UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team, shouldering losses to Smith College, 3-2, and Colby College, 3-0, on Saturday in Northampton. The Corsairs move to 6-5 on the season with the defeats.
In the opener against Smith, it was a five-set back-and-forth battle as the Corsairs gutted out the opening set by a 27-25 margin. After shouldering a 17-25 loss in the second set, UMass Dartmouth posted a 25-19 victory in the third.
Highlighting the set was a 7-0 opening run that saw multiple kills from sophomore opposite
Olivia Seutter. The Corsairs widened the margin, but the Bears battled back to close the gap, 17-14. Smith tried to climb back, but a pair of kills from junior outside hitter and captain
Allison Pate helped close down the set for the 25-19 win.
Smith answered in the fourth, earning a 25-12 set margin, before taking the fifth set by a narrow 17-15 score as they came from behind against the Corsairs for the five-set victory.
Pate recorded 16 kills for the Corsairs, adding two assists and 11 digs. Seutter posted 15 kills with two block assists and two block solos, while senior defensive specialist and captain
Emily Pogorelec notched a match-high 24 digs with two service aces. Junior setter
Skye Peters added 23 assists with two aces, while senior setter and captain
Sabrina Bordone had 12 assists.
In match two against the Mules – which saw a rematch of the 2024 NCAA Tournament First Round – Colby came out dominant, earning a 25-16 win despite four kills from Pate. Second set action was a close battle as the Corsairs pulled to within 16-13, but a 7-0 run, combined with another 2-1 stretch, gave the Mules the second set, 25-14 win.
Colby went on to capture the third set by a 25-15 margin – which included a four-point swing at the end to seal the match victory.
Pate once again paced the effort with seven kills and six digs. Seutter added six kills, while Peters added 11 assists. Pogorelec once again led the Corsairs in digs with 12 in the match.
The Corsairs are back in action on Wednesday, traveling to Johnson & Wales University for a 7pm match against the Wildcats.
