BALTIMORE, Md. – It was a busy afternoon of action for the UMass Dartmouth volleyball team as they traveled to Maryland for the Johns Hopkins Invitational. The Corsairs split the day's action, defeating Colby-Sawyer College, 3-0, after shouldering a tough 3-0 loss to Hardin-Simmons University. UMD is now 5-1 on the season.
In Friday's second game against the Chargers (25-18, 25-15, 25-19), the Corsairs saw sophomore opposite
Olivia Seutter pace the way, notching 15 kills and 0 errors on 27 swings for a .556 hitting percentage. She added a block solo and two block assists with two digs. Junior captain and outside hitter
Allison Pate added 10 kills with an assist, a block assist and five digs, while junior defensive specialist and captain
Emily Pogorelec added 14 digs. Classmate and fellow defensive specialist
Maria Torres laid down a match-best five service aces.
First set action saw the Corsairs battle as – despite a 13-8 lead – the Chargers answered with a 6-0 run to take the 14-13 advantage. UMD responded in kind, tacking on five points, including three aces from Torres, to regain the 18-14 lead. The Corsairs continued to hold the lead, allowing just two more points before closing out the set with four straight.
UMass Dartmouth came out dominant in the second set, breaking open a 19-6 advantage. The Chargers rebounded with a 5-0 run to later close the gap to 24-15, but a kill from Seutter wrapped up the frame for the 2-0 match lead.
In the third set, UMass Dartmouth continued to pace the way, seeing an 8-0 run turn into a 16-8 advantage. Rookie outside hitter
Ashley Serverius notched two kills in the effort. Colby-Sawyer battled back, making it a 17-14 score on a strike by Addison Sasnett, but multiple errors down the stretch and a final kill from junior opposite
Maddie Carter concluded the match.
The Corsairs faced a tough opponent in the day's opener, shouldering a 15-25, 16-25, 19-25 loss to the Cowgirls. Pate paced the Corsairs offense, posting eight kills with an assist, two block assists and seven digs. Seutter added five kills with an assist and two digs, while junior setter
Skye Peters posted eight assists with a service ace and seven digs. Pogorelec recorded a team-high eight digs.
After a rough go through the first two sets, the Corsairs battled back in the third, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to take a 7-3 lead. Pacing the way was three kills from Pate. The Cowgirls battled back to tie it at 7-all, but kills from Suetter, rookie middle blocker
Aleek Kuot and Pate, along with an ace from junior middle blocker
Vivian Neyman opened an 11-7 advantage.
UMass Dartmouth continued to hold the lead, taking a 14-10 lead on a kill from senior setter
Sabrina Bordone, but Hardin-Simmons bounced back with eight straight points to own the 18-14 lead. The Cowgirls continued to hold the advantage, building a 22-18 lead. The Corsairs nabbed a final point, but three straight from HSU closed out the match.
The Corsairs are back in action on Saturday morning, squaring off against #4 Johns Hopkins at 10am at Goldfarb Gym.
