DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth volleyball team posted a split on Saturday in tri-match action at Tripp Gymnasium. The Corsairs defeated Framingham State (25-17, 25-14, 25-16), before falling to Johnson & Wales, 3-2 (25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25, 10-15) in the day's finale. The Corsairs move to 4-3 on the season.
 
In the opening win against the Rams, junior opposite Olivia Seutter led the way with 19 kills and just one error on 25 swings for a .720 hitting percentage. She added two block assists and a dig. Senior captain and outside hitter Allison Pate posted eight kills with a match-high 18 digs, while fellow captain and setter Skye Peters added 32 assists with six digs. Senior middle blocker Maddie Carter notched a block solo and five block assists, while rookie defensive specialist Brooke Harrington had 15 digs.
 
First set action saw the Corsairs open a 9-5 advantage, capitalizing on numerous Rams' errors. Holding a 16-14 lead, UMD earned five of the next six points – including three kills from Pate – to widen the margin to 21-15. The visitors added two points, but a kill by Seutter and a service ace from Harrington closed out the set victory.
 
The home team went on a 5-0 run to open a 15-6 advantage – backed by consecutive aces from sophomore defensive specialist Tiffany London. UMass Dartmouth continued to press, opening a 23-10 lead, but the Rams battled back, closing the gap to 24-15, but a kill from sophomore McKenna Highlander wrapped up the middle set win.
 
Third set action saw the Corsair jump out to a 13-5 advantage. A pair of kills by Seutter, coupled with a strike from sophomore Ashley Serverius made it a 19-9 score as the Rams worked to battle back in. The visitors got the margin to 24-16, but an error secured the set win and match victory for the Corsairs.
 
In the second match of the day for UMD, Harrington recorded a match and collegiate-best 28 digs, adding three assists and a service ace. Pate dropped in 17 kills with 15 digs, two block assists and an ace, while Seutter had 14 kills with eight digs, two aces and two block assists. Carter had another block solo and three block assists with seven digs, while Peters recorded 45 assists, four kills, 10 digs and three service aces.
 
UMD posted back-to-back set wins to get things going, including a 25-23 set two win for a 2-0 lead. Despite the momentum, Johnson & Wales battled to a narrow 25-23 win of their own in set three, adding the five-point win in set four to force a fifth set. The Corsairs led by a 6-3 margin following a Seutter kill, but the Wildcats turned the tide, taking advantage of multiple errors to pull ahead 9-8 and a 4-0 run helped close out the match victory for JWU.
 
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Tuesday, welcoming Salve Regina to the Tripp Athletic Center at 6pm.