WORCESTER, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth volleyball team closed out the regular season with a road victory on Thursday, posting a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-11) win at Worcester State University. The Corsairs finish the regular season with a 15-7 overall record and will next compete in the Little East Semifinals on Thursday, November 12 at home.
 
Leading the Corsairs against the Lancers was senior outside hitter and captain Allison Pate, who recorded 12 kills and just one error on 24 swings for a .458 hitting percentage. She added two assists, a service ace and a team-best 10 digs. Junior opposite Olivia Seutter had 12 kills with three errors on 21 swings for a .429 hitting percentage, adding an ace and a block assist with three digs, while senior setter and captain Skye Peters recorded a match-high 37 assists to go along with two kills and eight digs.
 
Senior middle blocker Ella Soutter led the way defensively with a block solo and three block assists to go along with four kills, an assist, an ace and five digs, while senior middle blocker Maddie Carter had seven kills with no errors on 13 swings for a .538 hitting percentage. She also added a block assist and a dig.
 
In the opening set of action, the Corsairs roared out a strong lead, taking a 10-2 advantage behind multiple Lancer errors and a pair of kills from rookie outside hitter Norah Schweitzer – who finished with six kills on the night. The Lancers battled back, closing the gap to 16-11, but a four-point swing for UMD saw the visitors open a 20-11 advantage. Worcester State got close by a 23-18 margin, but the Corsairs took advantage of multiple errors to earn the set win.
 
Second set action once again saw the Corsairs open with a strong lead, going up 9-2, but a kill from Rylee Valstyn helped narrow the score to 12-11 midway and the Lancers went on to grab a 13-12 lead off a kill from Kaitlyn Anthony. The Corsairs answered with a 5-0 run – including kills from Pate and Seutter to regain a 17-13 margin. The home team was able to pull to within three (23-20), but strikes from Soutter and Seutter gave UMD the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The final set saw UMass Dartmouth go on a 7-0 run to build up a 13-4 lead. A service ace helped the Lancers make it a 14-8 score, but another run – this time 6-0 – saw the Corsairs widen the margin to 20-8. A pair of kills from Pate and an ace from junior defensive specialist Tehya Killam fueled the run. The Corsairs went on down the stretch for a 5-2 run, which included kills from Schweitzer and Carter to conclude the match.
 
The Corsairs now wait for the conclusion of the regular season for conference play this weekend. Seedings and pairings for the playoffs will be announced soon after. UMD will face the winner of one of Tuesday's quarterfinal games on November 12 at 7pm.