GORHAM, Maine – Powered by a match-high 40 assists and five service aces from senior captain Skye Peters, the UMass Dartmouth volleyball team posted a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-21) victory at the University of Southern Maine on Tuesday afternoon. The Corsairs improve to 11-6 overall and 4-0 in Little East action, while the Huskies are now 4-13 and 0-3 in conference play.
 
In addition to her assists – which mark the sixth time this season she has produced 40 or more assists – Peters added three kills with six digs. She now ranks second all-time in program history in career assists with 2,324 - trailing only Jess Goncalves '12 (2,853). Junior opposite Olivia Seutter produced a match-best 14 kills with just one error on 21 total attempts for a .619 hitting percentage, while senior outside hitter and captain Allison Pate also posted 14 kills with three aces and five digs.
 
Senior middle blocker Maddie Carter posted seven kills with a block solo and two block assists. Her efforts moved her into second all-time in program history in blocks with 197.0, surpassing Tahirah Gibson '14 (196). Rookie defensive specialist Brooke Harrington added a match-best 10 digs with three assists on the afternoon.
 
In the opening set of action, the two teams kept it tight until a 6-0 run – including three kills from Seutter – opened a 10-4 lead for the Corsairs. UMass Dartmouth continued to capitalize off of errors by the home team and held a 20-13 advantage following a kill from Carter. Southern Maine battled back, using a 4-0 run of their own to close the gap to 20-17, but three straight kills from Pate and a final ace by Peters closed out the opening set win.
 
Second set action saw UMass Dartmouth jump out to a 7-2 advantage behind three kills from Carter and a strike by rookie outside hitter Norah Schweitzer. The Huskies had a 3-0 run later in the frame to close the gap to 17-12, but the Corsairs held strong taking four of the final five points of the set, including back-to-back aces from Peters to win the middle set.
 
The two squads made it a back-and-forth battle in the third set as the Huskies took advantage of several Corsair errors to make it 7-7, while a kill from Carter pushed the score to 8-8. Neither team led by more than two until UMD went on a 4-0 run off USM errors to open a 19-14 score. UMass Dartmouth owned a 23-18 lead late as the Huskies battled back for three straight points. In the end, back-to-back kills from Pate sealed the set win and match victory for the Corsairs.
 
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Vermont State University Castleton at 11am in Tripp Gym. The match marks Senior Day for the Corsairs as they celebrate Peters, Pate, Carter and middle blocker Ella Soutter for their outstanding careers.