DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Backed by three straight set wins, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) defeated UMass Dartmouth, 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 25-11, 25-17), in non-conference action at Tripp Gym on Friday. The Engineers move to 2-3 overall, while the Corsairs slip to 3-2 on the young season.
 
Pacing the Corsairs offensively was rookie outside hitter Norah Schweitzer, who posted a collegiate-high 11 kills. He added nine digs with a block assist. Senior outside hitter and captain Allison Pate added 10 kills with 16 digs and two service aces, while rookie defensive specialist Brooke Harrington finished with 20 digs and three aces. Senior setter and captain Skye Peters added 34 assists with four kills and four digs on the night.
 
The Corsairs came out firing in the opening set, going on a 9-1 run to make it a 20-12 score. Leading the way were a pair of kills from junior opposite Olivia Seutter, along with a kill and an ace from Pate. The Engineers battled back, taking three straight points to narrow the gap to 16-22, but UMass Dartmouth sealed the win for a 1-0 advantage.
 
The two teams battled to a close margin in the second set as the Corsairs owned the advantage for the majority of the frame. Holding a 21-18 lead, the Engineers saw Anastasia Kelnik post a kill, followed by an error on the Corsairs to narrow the gap to one. UMD notched a pair of points, but WPI countered with five straight points, taking advantage of multiple errors by the Corsairs to tie the match at 1-1.
 
In the third set, the visiting Engineers owned an 11-8 lead following a kill from Pate, but countered with eight straight points to widen the gap to 19-8 soon after. Kills from Schweitzer and senior middle blocker Maddie Carter helped the Corsairs pull closer, but the Engineers sealed it on kills from Niki Szavuly and Kelnik for the 2-1 advantage.
 
WPI used solid offense in the fourth and final set to open another strong lead at 16-9. The Corsairs rebounded on a 5-1 run, which saw Seutter lay down a pair of kills, but the Engineers would hold the home team to just two points over the final nine of the set to earn the match victory.
 
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday morning, hosting Framingham State to open tri-match action. The Corsairs and Rams begin at 10am, followed by Framingham State versus Johnson & Wales at 12pm. UMD will face the Wildcats in the final match of the day at 2pm.