DARTMOUTH, Mass. – For the fourth straight season, the UMass Dartmouth volleyball team will appear in the Little East Conference Championship Final. The Corsairs posted a hard-fought 3-2 (25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 15-12) win over Keene State College in Semifinal action at Tripp Gym.
 
The victory moves the second-seeded Corsairs to 16-7 overall on the season as they will travel to face top-seeded UMass Boston on Saturday at 12pm at the Clark Athletic Center. Keene, which was the third seed, concludes its 2026 campaign at 17-10 overall.
 
Individually, the Corsairs were paced by junior opposite Olivia Seutter, who recorded 16 kills with two service aces, a block assist and three digs. Among her 16 kills included the 1,000th of her outstanding career. Senior outside hitter and captain Allison Pate added 14 kills with a match-high 21 digs to go along with a match-best six service aces. Senior captain and setter Skye Peters laid down a match-best 45 assists to go along with three aces, three kills, a block solo and a block assist with seven digs.
 
Rookie defensive specialist Brooke Harrington added 15 digs, while classmate and outside hitter Norah Schweitzer added 11 kills with two block assists and seven digs. Senior middle blocker Maddie Carter chipped in with 10 kills, a block solo and four block assists with two digs.
 
The Corsairs jumped out to an early lead in the match, but held a narrow margin late in the first as a kill from Schweitzer made it a 20-17 score. The Owls pulled it to within one on a kill from Aiya Dottin (22-21) and the visitors pulled ahead on a three-point swing for a 23-22 advantage. The Corsairs utilized a kill from Seutter, coupled with a pair of errors by Keene State, to seal the first set win.
 
Second set action saw Keene State take a 15-13 lead following a kill from Bella Bacon, but four straight points – including an ace from Peters – saw the Corsairs regain the 17-15 lead. UMD got another four-point margin late, backed by two straight kills from Carter and an ace from Seutter to make it 24-19. It was Carter with the final kill for a 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
It was two straight close sets that saw the Owls claim to send the match to a deciding fifth set for the second time this season. Keene State nabbed a 7-5 lead, but the Corsairs battled back with kills from Schweitzer and Pate to tie things up. Trailing 11-9, UMD rattled off three straight kills for a 12-11 lead.
 
With the score tied at 12-all, Seutter laid down a pair of kills and the Owls committed an attacking error to give the Corsairs the match victory and a spot in the Championship game.